Hong Kong's secret strength

[Chris Burford]

>Pretty interesting, eh? Sounds more like Singapore's managed markets than
>the casino banking espoused by the neoliberals.
>
>-- Dennis 


Many thanks for the concrete details, which give much more depth to the
overall picture. 

Before the British election in 1997 Tony Blair made a show of saying we
must learn from the tiger economies.

Now there has been a fall out, it is important what lessons get learned,
and by whom.

Left wingers and marxists could influence this agenda.



Regarding Doyle's information, this is also valuable, but he mistakes my
purpose in refering to my "equanimity" about a future HK dollar or yuan
devaluation. I am not into prediction or advising fund managers (which
appears to be the aim of the sources he cites). The point has been made by
both contributors that Hong Kong's foreign exchange position is remarkably
robust. Dennis actually confirms that its reserves are more than twice
those that Doyle's authorities regard as respectable for an advanced
capitalist nation state. If the Chinese do have to devalue, and they have
much bargaining power because a Chinese devaluation is clearly greatly
feared as a qualitative step in the transformation of the Asian crisis into
a global crisis, then who is arguing that the Hong Kong dollar would not
also devalue?  Even if it devalues on its own next month I think there is
enough evidence here that Hong Kong has been surprisingly robust through
this Asian crisis. 

It is not a socialist statelet, but nor is it a neo-liberal one. The point
is worth making. 

Chris Burford