APPENDICES
APPENDIX 14
(Chapter 6: Financial and Monetary Affairs) Exchange Value of the Hong Kong Dollar
(A) Historical changes in the exchange rate system
Par value of
the HK$ in
grams of
£1=
US$I=
fine gold
HK$
HK$
SDRI=
HK$
18 December 1946
IMF parities established; Hong Kong dollar was pegged to sterling 0.223834
16.00
3.970
18 September 1949
Hong Kong dollar devalued pari passu with sterling by 30.5%
20 November 1967
0.155517
16.00
5.714
Hong Kong dollar devalued pari passu with sterling by 14.3%
23 November 1967
0.133300
16.00
6.667
Hong Kong dollar revalued by 10%, including against sterling but continues pegged to sterling, at new rate
0.146631
14.55
6.061
18 December 1971
As part of the general currency realignment, Hong Kong dollar and sterling appreciated by 8.57% against US dollar. As a result of USA terminating, in August 1971, the convertibility of US dollar into gold, gold par value no longer had a practical meaning. IMF began to adopt the SDR as its accounting unit
6 July 1972
Hong Kong dollar pegged to US dollar following the floating of sterling
14 February 1973
US dollar devalued; Hong Kong dollar remains pegged,
at new rate
26 November 1974
Hong Kong dollar allowed to float, ie the government no longer undertook to maintain a particular rate against any other currency
17 October 1983
Hong Kong dollar was linked to US dollar, through a new
arrangement in the note-issue mechanism, at a fixed exchange [ ] rate of HK$7.80=US$1
14.55
5.582
6.061
5.650
6.134
5.085
6.134
(B) Exchange rates of the Hong Kong dollar against several major currencies
£
US$
DM
SDR
Effective exchange rate index(1)
(Nov 1983 = 100)
End of period
(HK dollars to one unit of foreign currency)
1974
11.53
4.910
2.03
0.0164
6.012
N.A.
1990
14.95
7.801
5.20
0.0576
11.098
108.3
1991
14.53
7.781
5.13
0.0622
11.130
108.4
1992
11.77
7.741
4.80
0.0623
10.644
113.2
1993
11.45
7.726
4.46
0.0690
10.612
113.8
1994
12.11
7.738
4.99
0.0775
11.298
123.5
1995
11.97
7.732
5.38
0.0750
11.495
122.7
444
Note: (1) The effective exchange rate index is derived from the weighted average of nominal exchange rates of the Hong Kong dollar against the
currencies of 17 major trading partners of Hong Kong.