Hong Kong’s Link to the US Dollar covers the origins of the city’s currency crisis in 1983, the initial resolution of the crisis by creation of a traditional currency board, the subsequent problems leading to the Asian financial crisis of 1997–98, and the later reforms. A new final chapter traces monetary developments in Hong Kong between 2005 and 2020. This valuable compendium of articles, originally written in the bimonthly journal Asian Monetary Monitor between 1981 and 1989, includes the key article that formed the basis for the Hong Kong government’s decision in 1983 to peg the currency to the US dollar, as well as other important documents of historical record. The main contribution of the book is its detailed monetary analysis of Hong Kong’s unique financial system before and after the currency crisis of 1983. The book explains the collapse of the floating Hong Kong dollar under the pressure of capital outflows during the Sino-British negotiations (1982–84) over the future of Hong Kong, the fascinating story of the introduction of the linked rate system pegging the Hong Kong dollar to the US dollar, and the subsequent gradual process of reform and refinement of the currency board mechanism (1988–2020). Hong Kong’s Link to the US Dollar will enable readers to obtain a comprehensive picture of why the linked rate system was put in place, how it works, and how it has been strengthened over the years. The second edition extends the discussion to 2020. Hong Kong’s Link to the US Dollar covers the origins of the city’s currency crisis in 1983, the initial resolution of the crisis by creation of a traditional currency board, the subsequent problems leading to the Asian financial crisis of 1997–98, and the later reforms. A new final chapter traces monetary developments in Hong Kong between 2005 and 2020. This valuable compendium of articles, originally written in the bimonthly journal Asian Monetary Monitor between 1981 and 1989, includes the key article that formed the basis for the Hong Kong government’s decision in 1983 to peg the currency to the US dollar, as well as other important documents of historical record. The main contribution of the book is its detailed monetary analysis of Hong Kong’s unique financial system before and after the currency crisis of 1983. The book explains the collapse of the floating Hong Kong dollar under the pressure of capital outflows during the Sino-British negotiations (1982–84) over the future of Hong Kong, the fascinating story of the introduction of the linked rate system pegging the Hong Kong dollar to the US dollar, and the subsequent gradual process of reform and refinement of the currency board mechanism (1988–2020). Hong Kong’s Link to the US Dollar will enable readers to obtain a comprehensive picture of why the linked rate system was put in place, how it works, and how it has been strengthened over the years. The second edition extends the discussion to 2020.

Hong Kong is one of the world’s most densely populated cities. Land supply, property values, and housing provision are inextricably linked with the city’s economic growth and questions of economic equality. In Hong Kong Land for Hong Kong People, Yue Chim Richard Wong traces the history of Hong Kong’s postwar housing policy. He then discusses current housing problems and their solutions, drawing on examples from around the world. Wong argues that housing policy in Hong Kong, with its multiple, often incompatible objectives, and its focus on supply over demand, can no longer satisfy the needs of a diverse and dynamic population. He recommends three simple low-cost policies to promote homeownership and social mobility: sell public rental housing units to the sitting tenants; make subsidized homes more affordable; and reform the public housing program along lines adopted in Singapore, where government-built housing may be resold or leased in a free market. This is the second of Richard Wong’s collections of articles on society and economy in Hong Kong. The first, Diversity and Occasional Anarchy, published by Hong Kong University Press in 2013, examines the growing contradictions in Hong Kong’s economy predicament in historical context.

China’s exchange rate regime has undergone gradual reform since the move away from a fixed exchange rate in 2005. The renminbi has become more flexible over time but is still carefully managed, and depth and liquidity in the onshore FX market is relatively low compared to other countries with de jure floating currencies. Allowing a greater role for market forces within the existing regime, and greater two-way flexibility of the exchange rate, are important steps to build on the progress already made. This should be complemented by further steps to develop the FX market, improve FX risk management, and modernize the monetary policy framework.