Hong Kong SAR's Monetary and Exchange Rate Challenges
edited by Catherine R. Schrenk
Palgrave Macmillan, HK$670
We live in interesting times. Those interesting times have forced us to look at things we normally ignore: derivatives, durable goods sales, even currency levels as the carry trade declines across the world, putting some Asian currencies under pressure.
So far currency boards have not been in the spotlight - probably because the current crisis has yet to push Asian currencies to the brink of collapse. Hong Kong is weathering the storm better than most. And while the efficient functioning of a currency board such as Hong Kong's is probably less interesting than a wet weekend in Wales, that board is worth a second look. As Warren Buffett observed: 'It's only when the tide goes out that you realise who's been swimming naked.'
It was only the onset of the Asian currency crisis that revealed Hong Kong was almost the only economy that had invested in Speedos.
