Why HK GDP/capita same as 10 yrs ago?

lionnoisy SG

why GDP per capita in Hong Kong remains unchanged for the past ten years?

u can vertify by this pdf file of 46 pages

year .....(1)..................percent change

1995 174843. 3.9%
1996 187258. 7.1%
1997 206324. 10.2%
1998 194406. -5.8%
1999 187739. -3.4%
2000 191960. 2.2%
2001 187868. -2.1%
2002 183013. -2.6%
2003 177227. -3.2%
2004 184320. 4.0%
2005 192058. 4.2%
2006 200528. 4.4%

1.Hong Kong SAR
GDP per capita, current prices
National currency | Units (in HK$)

1.

at current market price.per capita
1995--HK$181,241
2006--HK$215,006

Down load longer data series----http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/hong_kong_statistics/statistical_tables/index.jsp?tableID=039

mistyblue SG

ask hk

miserable SG

Hong Kong marks handover anniversary By CASSIE BIGGS, Associated Press Writer
Sun Jul 1, 6:58 AM ET

HONG KONG - Hong Kongers marked a decade of Chinese rule on Sunday with a colorful parade and a mass street protest to call for progress on democratic reform.

Several thousand pro-democracy protesters streamed through the city as they marched to the government's downtown headquarters from Victoria Park, one of the few remaining vestiges of British colonialism since the Chinese took control on July 1, 1997.

Under the handover agreement negotiated by Britain and China in 1984, Hong Kongers are entitled to eventually elect their leader and legislature, although the document is vague on when that is supposed to happen.

Police put the number of protesters at about 20,000, slightly below last year's turnout. Organizers said 68,000 people had turned out.

Many joined the march as it snaked through residential and business districts, waving banners calling for universal suffrage, cleaner skies and an improvement in social welfare.

"We can all see that there hasn't been any democratic progress in the past 10 years," Anson Chan, the former No. 2 in the government told The Associated Press.

Earlier in the day, Chinese and Hong Kong leaders praised the territory for bouncing back from a turbulent decade of financial, health and political crises, but warned that the next 10 years would pose equally tough challenges from Asian cities threatening to eclipse it as a global business capital.

"The competition ahead is fierce. We are not only competing with neighboring cities, but with cities around the world," said Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang, a bow tie-wearing veteran civil servant who was sworn in Sunday for a second term.

At the start of the day, a few hundred people stood near Hong Kong's harbor to watch as the Chinese and Hong Kong flags were hoisted into a cloudy blue sky. A band played China's national anthem and the crowd cheered when four helicopters pulling the two flags flew overhead, leaving a stream of red smoke.

Hours later, thousands poured onto the streets, waving flags, while about 20 Chinese paratroopers dropped out of the sky.

Chinese patriotism has been a key theme of the anniversary celebrations, which were to be capped with a spectacular firework display Sunday night spelling out the words "Chinese people."

"The last 10 years have been OK. What we really need to do is look forward now. Hong Kong people must be optimistic," said spectator Ken Chen, who works in property management.

But another resident, Rusli Lie, said she feared Hong Kong might get edged out by regional rivals Singapore and Shanghai.

Chinese President Hu Jintao, who arrived in Hong Kong for the celebrations Friday, praised Hong Kongers for their resilience. He also said Hong Kong's "democracy is growing in an orderly way," but made no mention of when residents would get full democracy.

Since Hong Kong returned to China, the city has been governed under a "one country, two systems" formula. The arrangement has allowed the territory to keep its capitalist economy, British-style legal system, free press and civil liberties.

But although the city has one of Asia's most prosperous and well-educated societies, they still can't directly elect their leader and entire legislature.

Protesters have staged several rallies during Hu's three-day trip, including burning photos of the Chinese leader and an effigy of what they said was the "butcherous" Beijing regime.

Members of the Democratic Party also held a midnight Saturday vigil on the balcony of the legislative building in which they urged Beijing to "trust" Hong Kongers to elect a responsible leader.

Hu steered clear of the protests, and left Hong Kong before Sunday's mass street rally.

Vivian Ma, a secretary, said she had marched every year since 1989, when troops in Beijing brutally crushed pro-democracy protesters, killing hundreds, possibly thousands, and sparking a mass protest in Hong Kong of nearly a million.

"Hong Kong has to fight for universal suffrage," she said.

Tsang on Sunday repeated his pledge to tackle the thorny issue during his five-year term. "We will develop a system that is more democratic," he said, without elaborating.

Hong Kong's leader is selected by an 800-seat election committee dominated by Beijing loyalists. Only half of the 60-seat legislature is directly elected, and the rest are picked by professional and special interest groups.

___

Associated Press writers William Foreman, Dikky Sinn and Sylvia Hui contributed to this report

Laughing

miserable SG

China's delicate balance with HK
By Michael Bristow
BBC News, Beijing

When Hong Kong was handed back to China 10 years ago, many people feared that Beijing would establish an iron grip on the former British colony.

Despite China's assertion that it would abide by the agreed "one country, two systems" formula, critics believed Beijing's authoritarian government would not be able to stop itself from meddling in Hong Kong's affairs.

But 10 years on, those fears have mostly proved groundless.

Although there are complaints, Hong Kong has in the main been left to govern itself, and is as about as free as it was a decade ago.

"Not many people now think the mainland will strangle Hong Kong," said Nicholas Bequelin, of the US-based group Human Rights Watch.

"China has exercised its sovereign power over Hong Kong on issues that it views as critical but, other than that, Hong Kong has been largely left alone," added the Hong Kong-based spokesman.

Protests

Not surprisingly, this is a view also held by senior officials in both Hong Kong and Beijing.

Donald Tsang, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's newly reappointed - and Beijing-backed - chief executive certainly says so.

On the Hong Kong government's website he declares: "Hong Kong people are running Hong Kong with the high degree of autonomy that was promised."

And Beijing is even more emphatic on that point.

When Britain and China signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984, laying out handover terms, Beijing promised that Hong Kong's society and economy would remain unchanged.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a recent press conference that this commitment had been "conscientiously observed and implemented".

Ordinary Hong Kong people have even shown they can shape their own destiny.

A controversial anti-subversion bill was withdrawn after half a million people staged a street demonstration against the proposal in 2003.

Undemocratic elections

But it is not actually quite the case that Beijing has left Hong Kong alone.

"China should allow Hong Kong to develop democracy and then when it sees how well it works it can copy us "
Martin Lee
Hong Kong's Democratic Party

The joint declaration that promised a high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong also made it clear that Beijing had the ultimate power to decide the territory's future.

Perhaps the most notable example of this power comes in Beijing's refusal to say when it will allow Hong Kong's chief executive and Legislative Council to be elected by universal suffrage.

The chief executive is currently chosen by a largely appointed electoral college.

China's then President Jiang Zemin promised such elections in his speech at Hong Kong's handover ceremony, but Beijing has not yet said when it will allow them.

In 2004 it ruled out universal suffrage for this year's chief executive election and next year's Legislative Council elections.

And comments made by current Chinese President Hu Jintao to Donald Tsang at a ceremony in April, to confirm the Hong Kong leader's re-selection, do not appear encouraging.

Mr Hu said democracy in Hong Kong should "proceed systematically".

These words might not seem particularly profound, but in a country where political leaders rarely reveal what they are thinking, the remarks led some commentators to suggest that universal suffrage is still a long way off.
Martin Lee, one of 30 directly elected representatives in Hong Kong's 60-seat Legislative Council, and chairman of the Democratic Party, said such elections were needed if the territory's unique status was to be maintained.

"Freedoms are as good in Hong Kong at the moment as before, but how long can we preserve these freedoms without democracy?" he said.

"Hong Kong has made much more progress in the last 10 years"
Shahid Shahid, Chicago

There were already signs that China was trying to erode some of the territory's rights, he said - by, for example, putting pressure on Hong Kong's judges.
If it did grant Hong Kong's people the right to chose their own leader through broad-based elections, Beijing could also learn something for itself, said Mr Lee.

"China should allow Hong Kong to develop democracy and then when it sees how well it works it can copy us," he explained.

But that is a lofty hope. Despite Hong Kong's freedoms, China's Communist Party has so far shown no signs of wanting to relinquish its ultimate hold over the territory.

Story from BBC NEWS:

Laughing

lionnoisy SG

i am expecting reasons or guess,not repeats of irrelevant news!!

miserable SG

Hong Kong v Shanghai: Global Rivals
By Steve Schifferes
Globalisation reporter, BBC News, Shanghai, China

Business seats on flights from Hong Kong to Beijing and Shanghai are now packed full on Monday mornings and Friday evenings, according to China's banking regulator, Liu Mingkang.

A decade ago, the migration was in the other direction, with migrant labourers from China flooding into Hong Kong.

The reverse commuting from Hong Kong is one sign of the growing economic importance of mainland China compared to its former colony.

And Shanghai's vibrant shopping streets now attract visitors from Hong Kong and around the world.

But residents of Shanghai - whose per capita income, though it is the highest in China, is still well below people in Hong Kong - still envy their richer cousins.

And according to Professor Saskia Sassen, an expert on globalisation who teaches at the London School of Economics, Shanghai is still lagging behind Hong Kong as a truly global city.

But will it overtake its rival in the race for financial supremacy?

Economic liberalisation

In the 1980s, Hong Kong was the vital entrepot between mainland China and the outside world.

Goods assembled in China were re-exported through Hong Kong, while financial and business services were provided for Chinese companies which traded with the West.
And when the Chinese government decided to open up its economy to foreign investment, the first special economic zone - Shenzhen - was chosen for its proximity to Hong Kong.

Many Hong Kong businesses, especially in textiles and clothing, relocated, bringing expertise and capital to the mainland.

The specialisation of Hong Kong in financial and business services increased as manufacturing jobs moved to the mainland.

And Chinese companies used the Hong Kong stock market when they wanted to raise money.

Hong Kong's open financial markets meant that it came under pressure during the Asian financial crisis in 1997, just after the handover.

Only massive intervention by the government prevented a financial meltdown.

The Shanghai boom

But by the 1990s, it had become clear that China's economic policy-makers were tilting towards the development of other economic regions, especially Shanghai and Beijing, as the leading centres of foreign investment.

A clique of leaders including Zhu Róngji - the prime minister who was former mayor of Shanghai - approved the expansion of the city on its eastern bank to create a new financial district.

The area, Pudong, soon became the leading centre of foreign investment, where multinational firms congregated and multinational banks placed their headquarters.

Shanghai's dynamic economic growth, fuelled by exports, has also transformed the physical fabric of the city and transformed the whole Shanghai Delta region.

And in the government's latest five-year plan, it is these two regions, not the Pearl River Delta around Hong Kong, that is favoured with new, high-tech development.

Financial competition

China has been determined to develop the financial services industry on the mainland.

In 1990 it created a new stock market in Shanghai to rival Hong Kong.

Open mainly to domestic investors, it is now in the midst of an unprecedented boom.

China boosted its own banking sector, and increased regulation, especially after the banks got into difficulties over bad loans to state firms.

And it is gradually opening up the financial sector to international firms, with foreign banks now being allowed to open yuan accounts for domestic residents.

However, the Chinese banking sector is still largely involved in lending to the corporate sector, not individuals.

And financial services for ordinary citizens are still relatively undeveloped, with only 60 million credit cards, for example, in a population of 1.3 billion.

China's domestic market for financial services, however, is likely to grow rapidly, and it is attracting investment from firms around the world.

World cities

According to Professor Sassen, Hong Kong still has advantages that Shanghai cannot match in terms of financial sophistication.

She calls Hong Kong a world city, with its financial markets more attuned to the innovations in global capital markets.

In her view, Hong Kong is closer to New York, and Shanghai to Chicago - a huge city serving an industrial hinterland, with specialist financial and trading services evolving to smooth the path for industry.

It is notable that many international banks have kept their Asian business headquarters in Hong Kong, just as they moved their domestic business to Shanghai.

And if China decides to accelerate the liberalisation of its currency, it could be that Hong Kong will play an even more important role in currency trading.

According to Hong Kong's financial secretary, Henry Tang, the city retains its strengths as a financial centre because of its links with the rest of Asia as well as the mainland, and its clear commitment to the rule of law.

And at the same time, Shanghai's headlong dash for growth may run into political roadblocks.

The new Chinese leadership has increasingly emphasised the need for balanced growth, with less disparities of wealth and more priority for the rural hinterland.

So it may be that rather than rivals, Shanghai and Hong Kong become complementary parts of the Chinese economic miracle.

FACTS
HONG KONG V SHANGHAI
Per capita income:
Hong Kong: $27,480
Shanghai: $2,650
Property prices:
Hong Kong: $12,500/sq m
Shanghai: $3,000/sq m
Stock market capitalisation:
Hong Kong: $1.8 trillion
Shanghai: $1.7 trillion

miserable SG

Hong Kong wealth soared after handover By Juliana Liu
Business reporter, BBC News, Hong Kong

Hong Kong's skyline is flashy at the best of times. But now, the neon is going into overdrive.
Big corporations are trying to outdo each other to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China. And the city has much to cheer about.

In many ways, life has not changed.

Some feared Beijing would crush the city's spirit. But believe it or not, Hong Kong is 40% richer than it was 10 years ago.

Ever resourceful, its locals have bounced back from the Asian financial crisis and SARS. The economy is growing at its fastest since the 1980s. And it is still a great place to do business.

That is the case for stock trader Andy Lee, 37. He took a gamble on Hong Kong 11 years ago, and he is one of many to hit a lucky streak since the handover.

Originally from New York, Mr Lee has done so well that he has opened a club near Lan Kwai Fong, the downtown pub street.

The stock market has been hitting record highs day after day. And there is one big reason: China.

Ronald Arculli, head of the Hong Kong stock exchange, says he is the envy of exchanges around the world.

Failed constituents

But there is a side to Hong Kong tourists rarely see.

Kowloon is located across the bay from the main island. It is home to two million people, some of them old, many of them working class. Here it is possible to find whole families living in a single room.

Li Jinfeng, in her 40s, is divorced and unemployed. It is getting harder and harder to put food on the table for her 12-year-old daughter. She has been looking for a full-time job for five years now.

Ms Li moved to Hong Kong nearly 15 years ago from the mainland, looking for a better life. But her hopes have been shunted aside by the her homeland's prosperity. Previously plentiful, factory jobs have moved to the mainland.

"This is a problem with society, not with people like me," she says. "We want to work."

Albert Chan, Ms Li's local legislative councillor, feels the same way. He says the government has failed many of his constituents.

Yet Hong Kong's newly promoted chief secretary, Henry Tang, insists the handover has been a complete success. He is vowing to do more to help unemployed Hong Kong people.

Worthy rival

To understand the pressures Hong Kong is facing, leave the territory and go across the border to mainland China. It is a rather crowded train ride, but it lasts for 45 minutes.

Half a million people commute from one side to the other regularly: to work, to see relatives or just to shop.

And the city on the other side is Shenzhen, one of the first places China opened to foreign investment. It is a glass and steel boomtown, launched by Paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, the mastermind behind China's economic reforms.

Southern China has more to offer than just cheap workers these days. Shenzhen, for one, is looking more and more like Hong Kong, but with lower wages and without the expats. It's motto is: anything Hong Kong can do, we can do better.

Mr Le Zheng, an academic and advisor to Shenzhen's parliament, says Hong Kong has reason to feel anxious. Cities like Shenzhen, Shanghai and Guangzhou are catching up quickly.

Mainland arrival

For now, Hong Kong people are still carving out a space for themselves on the mainland.

The Joyful factory makes bespoke furniture. It is owned by Hong Kong investors and staffed by more than 1,000 Chinese workers. It is just one of the thousands of plants that have moved to the mainland in the last 20 years.

Factory boss Kelvin Law, 29, is a Hong Kong native. His business has changed unexpectedly since the handover. Now, half his customers are from mainland China.

For a century, the Fragrant Harbour was the place that all other Chinese cities aspired to be.

But as the rest of the country catches up, soon Hong Kong may have to get used to being just another high rise city in greater China.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/6253002.stm

Published: 2007/07/02 07:31:51 GMT

© BBC MMVII

Atobe SG

Are you not asking the obvious, or have you missed the Reports from the Economic Review Committee - formed after the 1987, 1997 and the 2002 Singapore economic downturn ?

In all the three reports, Hong Kong was referred to in small parts but the common note that was emphasised was that Hong Kong's economy is more diversifed from being dependant entirely on large foreign investments that are sensitive to cyclical export conditions.

Instead, Hong Kong's economy is generally kept afloat by a large underlay of Middle and Small Busienesses that thrives on a smaller scale.

These Hong Kong businesses are more sensitive and faster in their response to market changes, and without the working population having to make severe structural changes to adapt to the ever changing economic environment.

The difference between Hong Kong and Singapore is that the heavy hand of Government interference is absent, leaving the running of the economy to a handful of economist in Government that remained in close touch with the business leaders, and with the Government setting the economic environment in the right condition, while not interfering in the day-to-day involvement of businesses.

In Singapore, the heavy hand of Government is no different from the Government formed by the Communist Party of China, which similarly involve itself in every large, medium or small enterprises.

From Trade Unions, Heavy, Medium and Light Industries, Telecommunication, Broadcast and Print, Transportation, Supermarkets, General Trading, Retail, Housing, Health, Education, Banking, Insurances, General Services.

With the Hong Kong government leaving these areas that the Singapore Government is totally involved with, one should be surprised that Hong Kong could maintain a stable GDP/capita for such a long period - and in an environment that was expected to be chaotic after the handing over of Hong Kong to China in 1997.

Even with a more liberal political environment - with different political voices, Hong Kong has shown Singapore that it is able to produce more creative, talented and enterprising Citizens with their special liberal environment of ''ONE Country, TWO Systems''.

Singapore can only continue to hope and lament through the last Fifty Years of continuous monopolistic rule by a Single Dominant Party and PERSONALITY.

miserable SG

Dude, have you read those stories that I paste for you ? Neutral Neutral Neutral

If not then i think you better start reading because it will definitely gives you a better insight on Hong Kong rather than those mumbo jumbo that you provides.

Btw these reports are from respected news agencies and not from some tabloids Laughing

miserable SG

Originally posted by Atobe:

Are you not asking the obvious, or have you missed the Reports from the Economic Review Committee - formed after the 1987, 1997 and the 2002 Singapore economic downturn ?

In all the three reports, Hong Kong was referred to in small parts but the common note that was emphasised was that Hong Kong's economy is more diversifed from being dependant entirely on large foreign investments that are sensitive to cyclical export conditions.

Instead, Hong Kong's economy is generally kept afloat by a large underlay of Middle and Small Busienesses that thrives on a smaller scale.

These Hong Kong businesses are more sensitive and faster in their response to market changes, and without the working population having to make severe structural changes to adapt to the ever changing economic environment.

The difference between Hong Kong and Singapore is that the heavy hand of Government interference is absent, leaving the running of the economy to a handful of economist in Government that remained in close touch with the business leaders, and with the Government setting the economic environment in the right condition, while not interfering in the day-to-day involvement of businesses.

In Singapore, the heavy hand of Government is no different from the Government formed by the Communist Party of China, which similarly involve itself in every large, medium or small enterprises.

From Trade Unions, Heavy, Medium and Light Industries, Telecommunication, Broadcast and Print, Transportation, Supermarkets, General Trading, Retail, Housing, Health, Education, Banking, Insurances, General Services.

With the Hong Kong government leaving these areas that the Singapore Government is totally involved with, one should be surprised that Hong Kong could maintain a stable GDP/capita for such a long period - and in an environment that was expected to be chaotic after the handing over of Hong Kong to China in 1997.

Even with a more liberal political environment - with different political voices, Hong Kong has shown Singapore that it is able to produce more creative, talented and enterprising Citizens with their special liberal environment of [b]''ONE Country, TWO Systems''.

Singapore can only continue to hope and lament through the last Fifty Years of continuous monopolistic rule by a Single Dominant Party and PERSONALITY.

[/b]

All right!!! you speak my mind... Even the Chinese CCP too, are making changes and why can't our "respected ones"

maurizio13 SG

Dodo!!!

Hehehe

You are using national currency, the HKD is pegged to the USD.

Based on PPP:

Hong Kong:
1995: USD 21,349.2
1996: USD 22,000.9
1997: USD 23,320.8
1998: USD 22,180.8
1999: USD 23,080.5
2000: USD 25,649.4
2001: USD 26,244.9
2002: USD 26,957.7
2003: USD 28,051.6
2004: USD 30,558.4
2005: USD 32,292.2
2006: USD 33,940.3

Annual compounded growth: 3.939%

Singapore:
1995: USD 18,865.8
1996: USD 19,957.7
1997: USD 21,289.8
1998: USD 20,613.0
1999: USD 22,185.0
2000: USD 24,097.3
2001: USD 23,540.3
2002: USD 24,208.7
2003: USD 24,495.1
2004: USD 26,799.2
2005: USD 28,228.0
2006: USD 29,591.0

Annual compounded growth: 3.822%

lionnoisy SG

2.Good job.But there is a common wisdom that for many years
HK $$ is over valued and peg sys make HK people suffer.

The moneraty policy is tied up with US $$.HK
has no power on her own money policy.

Pl do some home work.

When HK should tightened the money supple,she could not
and the interest rate was damn low,making speculation damn easy.

All these are history.

Tung Chee Wah and former Financial Secetary Leung said
around 1997 they thought of cancelling the peg sys.

lionnoisy SG

some say HK is biz friendly.U are damn right--friendly to greedy businessmen!!

While u say NTUC dominate SG,do u know HK are almost monopolised by
Welcome and Park'N Supermarkets?

even the live pigs are monopolised by a PRC supported company.

The price of live pigs is increaed by 50 % in recent months.
No live pigs supply to HK today!!

2.
http://www.centanet.com/

even the new property markets(developers) and house agency are dominated
by few players...

3.
http://www.centanet.com/cci.htm
while many of u envy HK,do u know prices of HK big housing estate
estate is still some 45 % below July 1997 prices??

dunt over come by news of sky high prices in HK for few
properties in Peak or southern area.The mass market is the best
indicator of HK economy!!

maurizio13 SG

Make HK people suffer? Can elaborate further or provide statistics?

Don't have to state the obvious about monetary policies. Stop trolling.

I think it's you that should be doing more homework, which part of my post do you contradict? More point rebuttals instead or trolling.

You mean having low interest rate makes speculation easy? Just like Singapore which has a lower interest rate than HK. You shooting yourself in the foot again?

Singapore DBS savings rate:
First $3000 = 0.2500%
Next $47000 = 0.2750%
Next $50000 =0.3750%
Remaining balance above $100000 = 0.4750%

Hong Kong HSBC savings rate:
Less than HK $5,000 = 0.0000%
HK $5,000 to HK $9,999 = 1.2500%
HK $10,000 to HK $149,999 = 2.2500%
HK $150,000 or above = 2.5000%

So you have nothing else to comment on the per capita GDP using PPP which conflicts with your first post?

lionnoisy SG

2.sorry your knowledge is better.
But have u learnt that the higher interest rate compensate u
the higher risk involved?

The HDB auntie and the billion dollars fund managers have the
common wisdoms.They would rather get the insulting
almost zero rate in Sing than put in high risk currency.

Dunt teach your granny put her hard earn savings in
high interest rate currency---the over night depreciation
will eat up the high interest rates!!

maurizio13 SG

Please stop being an invertebrate worm with no spine. First you shot yourself on the foot, then you try to shoot your head. Hehehe......

lionnoisy said:

1) When HK should tightened the money supple,she could not
and the interest rate was damn low,making speculation damn easy.

maurizio13 said:

2) You mean having low interest rate makes speculation easy? Just like Singapore which has a lower interest rate than HK. You shooting yourself in the foot again?

lionnoisy said:

3) But have u learnt that the higher interest rate compensate u
the higher risk involved?

The HDB auntie and the billion dollars fund managers have the
common wisdoms.They would rather get the insulting
almost zero rate in Sing than put in high risk currency.

Dunt teach your granny put her hard earn savings in
high interest rate currency---the over night depreciation
will eat up the high interest rates!!

Obviously when you made that comment, you have no idea what is IRP.

miserable SG

Lionnoisy, I hate say this to you. You are a fcuking ignorant pussy. Stop posting craps over to mislead people. It is quite obvious,you never read those articles that I posted for you unless you just simply do not understand English !!! Neutral Neutral Neutral

You rant and rant about nothing.......you have no sense about what is happening there !!! You have no understanding about the Chinese ruling of "One country,two sytems "neither you have any economic background to even understand why HKD is peg under USD and not CNY or why they do not just free flow it. Mad Mad Mad

I am a Singaporean and I am damn ashamed of such behavoir from a fellow countryman. Please understand such self centred, boorish and ignorance behaviour do not reflect well for us,Singaporean at all !!! Mad Mad Mad

If you think Hong Kong is such horrible place, mind you, there is a decent community of professional Singaporeans working there and it is getting bigger as the days goes by. If you think I am talking craps,try asking your private bankers.

Neutral Neutral Neutral

Please kindly read the article as per below.

Hong Kong maintains a highly capitalist economy built on a policy of free market, low taxation and government non-intervention. It is an important centre for international finance and trade, with the greatest concentration of corporate headquarters in the Asia-Pacific region. In terms of gross domestic product per capita and gross metropolitan product, Hong Kong is the wealthiest urban centre in the People's Republic of China. The GDP per capita (PPP) of Hong Kong even exceeded the four big economies in Western Europe (UK, France, Germany, Italy) and Japan in Asia.

Continuing the practice established under the British administration, the Government of Hong Kong mostly leaves the direction of the economy to market forces and the private sector. Since 1980, the government has generally played a passive role under the official policy of positive non-interventionism. Hong Kong has often been cited as a prime example of laissez-faire capitalism in practice, most notably by economist Milton Friedman. It has ranked as the world's freest economy in the Index of Economic Freedom for 13 consecutive years, since the inception of the index in 1995.[26][27] It also places first in the Economic Freedom of the World Report.[28]
Hong Kong has little arable land and few natural resources within its borders, and must therefore import most of its food and raw materials. Hong Kong is the world's eleventh largest trading entity,[29] with the total value of imports and exports exceeding its gross domestic product. As of 2006, there are 114 countries that maintain consulates in Hong Kong, more than any other city in the world. Much of Hong Kong's exports consists of re-exports, which are products made outside of the territory, especially in mainland China, and distributed through Hong Kong. Even before the transfer of sovereignty to the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong has established extensive trade and investment ties with mainland China. The territory's autonomous status enables it to serve as a point of entry for investments and resources flowing into the mainland. It is also a connecting point for flights from the Republic of China on Taiwan destined for the mainland

The currency used in Hong Kong is the Hong Kong dollar. Since 1983, it has been pegged at a fixed exchange rate to the United States dollar. The currency is allowed to trade within a range between 7.75 and 7.85 Hong Kong dollars to one United States dollar. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is the seventh largest in the world, with a market capitalisation of about US$1.69 trillion as of February 2007. In 2006, the value of initial public offerings conducted in Hong Kong was second highest in the world after London.[30] The City of London Corporation's Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) 2007, which evaluates the competitiveness of 46 financial centres worldwide, ranks Hong Kong as the third-best financial centre globally and the strongest centre in Asia.[31]

Hong Kong's economy is dominated by services, which accounts for over 90 percent of its gross domestic product. In the past, manufacturing had been the most important sector of the economy, as Hong Kong industrialised following the Second World War. Driven by exports, the economy grew at an average annual rate of 8.9 percent in the 1970s. Hong Kong underwent a rapid transition to a service-based economy in the 1980s, when growth averaged 7.2 percent annually. Much of the manufacturing operations moved to mainland China during this period, and industry now constitutes just 9 percent of the economy. As Hong Kong matured to become a financial centre, growth slowed to an average of 2.7 percent annually in the 1990s. Together with Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan, Hong Kong is known as one of the Four Asian Tigers for its high growth rates and rapid industrialisation between the 1960s and the 1990s

The economy suffered a 5.3 percent decline during 1998, in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis. A period of recovery followed, with growth rate reaching 10 percent in 2000, although deflation persisted. In 2003, the economy was greatly affected by the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which reduced economic growth to 2.3 percent that year. A revival of external and domestic demand led to a strong recovery the following year, as cost declines strengthened Hong Kong export competitiveness. The 68-month-long deflationary period ended in mid-2004, with consumer price inflation hovering at near zero levels.[33] Beginning in 2003, the Individual Visit Scheme has allowed travellers from some cities in mainland China to visit Hong Kong without an accompanying tour group. As a result, the tourism industry of Hong Kong has benefitted from an increase in mainland visitors, further aided by the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort in 2005. The economy continues to grow strongly with the return of consumer confidence and rising trade. Hong Kong has set low rates in both personal and corporate taxation.

In 2006, Hong Kong's per-capita GDP ranked as the 6th highest in the world at US$38,127, ahead of countries such as Switzerland, Denmark, and Japan.[34] Its GDP ranked as the 40th highest at US$253.1 billion.

will4 SG

HK is regarded as NY of Asia acording to a magazine. The people are highly business minded.

miserable SG

Yes.....Hong Kong is the top laissez-faire player in the world and yet here we have a moron condemning their policies. What an embarrassment to us Singaporeans. Embarassed

will4 SG

They are more creative compared to local. Seriously speaking they have no people like MM Lee to lead but also managed to become prosperous like

Spore.