Exclusive | Decouple Hong Kong’s currency peg to the US dollar? ‘Absolutely not,’ says finance chief Paul Chan
- Peg is aligned with national strategy and fortifies city’s standing as international financial centre, Chan tells Post in exclusive interview
- New administration is in discussions with Beijing on allowing Chinese companies to share data with Hong Kong if they join local bourse, he says
Hong Kong will “absolutely not” decouple its currency from the US dollar despite recent capital outflows and challenging China-United States ties, as the peg is aligned with the national strategy and fortifies the city’s standing as an international financial centre, the city’s finance chief has told the Post.
The new administration was also discussing with Beijing on allowing Chinese companies to share sensitive data with Hong Kong if they joined the local bourse, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in the exclusive interview.
The move, along with other international organisations doing the same, would help turn Hong Kong into a world-class data centre while boosting market capitalisation at the same time, he argued.
“If we are able to convince the mainland authorities to allow data to cross the border to be used in Hong Kong, with the assurance that the data will stay here and will not go overseas, then it will put Hong Kong in a very advantageous position,” he said.
02:33
Hong Kong to revise GDP forecast downwards: finance chief Paul Chan
The possibility of another rise in US interest rates this week, combined with recent capital flight and escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing have fuelled concerns over the ability of Hong Kong to withstand the pressures on the currency peg.
