Money and finance in Hong Kong

Abstract

This thesis is a study of the workings of the system of money and finance in Hong Kong and, more specifically, of the adaptation of the system of money and finance during the recent period of rapid economic growth. The objects of the study are : to set out how the rapid industrialisation and economic growth have been financed; to examine whether the financial system itself has changed in important ways during the rapid economic growth (which involves an outline of the financial structure of the entrepot economy); and to see whether the financial system might have facilitated or restricted the economic growth . An attempt is made also to establish the relevance of Hong Kong's financial experience to other developing economies. It should be stressed that the thesis is concerned with the financial system and not, as is more usual in studies of this sort, only the financial institutions and the capital market. From this broader approach - which involves a discussion of the foreign exchange markets, the unorganised market and the· public finances - emerges a more complete picture of the way in which economic growth has been financed.