11.
the
(a) In contacts with government officials and chambers of
commerce during a week's visit in Lisbon and Madrid, Hong Kong stock market crisis was never seriously mentioned.
(b) In a visit to Hamburg, including a speaking engagement to
the East Asia Association attended by bankers and businessmen, no questions on this topic were raised.
(c) In meetings which our IPO held with some 60 industrialists in
South Germany in the weeks following the crisis, no concern was shown about effects on the Hong Kong economy.
(d) The HSBC representative in the Netherlands reported no
negative feeling towards Hong Kong as a result of the crisis. (e) The HSBC representative in Frankfurt reported that Hong Kong
had always had the reputation of being a volatile and speculative market. He had heard no criticism of the closure of the market and did not think Hong Kong's reputation would
suffer.
(f) The only question raised with the AG after his speech to a
financial/business audience at Rothschild's Bank in Paris was about the extent of PRC banks' involvement after the crash in supporting the stock market and the futures exchange rescue
package.
In a number of cases individuals have praised the Hong Kong Government's action, eg. the Secretary General of the Luxembourg Bankers' Association and some members of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce independently expressed the view that closure of the market was justified to "give time for people to cool down". Others have pointed to the fact that other markets were open
name only.
12.
in
On the other hand, some people with a specialised knowledge of Hong Kong are critical of the regulatory arrangements
A Frankfurt banker thought and of the decision to close the market.
that the futures exchange would have difficulty in recovering credibility. A senior Hong Kong staff member of a US bank said:
"Fund managers value above all in a market the freedom to move capital. The closure of the market in Hong Kong denied them this, and they will certainly trim their future portfolios accordingly; in this respect, the market closure has permanently
/damaged