Hong Kong

Occupied by the UK in 1841, Hong Kong was formally ceded by China the following year; various adjacent lands were added later in the 19th century. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and the UK on 19 December 1984, Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system would not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong would enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the next 50 years.

Economical characteristics

 * Currency: Hong Kong dollar (ISO code: HKD)
 * Central bank discount rate: 0.5% (31 December 2009)
 * Commercial banks lending rate: 5% (31 December 2009)
 * Stock of money (M1): $127.3 billion (31 December 2009)
 * Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $757.6 billion (31 December 2009)

Notable events:

 * Banking crisis: 1982, 1983-1986, 1998

Links

 * Hong Kong on Wikipedia
 * Central bank of Hong Kong
 * BBC country profile
 * Freedom Works: The Case of Hong Kong by Andrew P. Morriss
 * Lessons in Liberty: Hong Kong, Crown Jewel of Capitalism by Robert A. Peterson
 * The Man Behind the Hong Kong Miracle by Lawrence W. Reed, February 2014