SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1987
QUESTIONER: WITH THE CLOSING OF THE MARKETS, AND GIVEN YOURS WAS THE ONLY MAJOR MARKET TO CLOSE THIS WEEK, IS THERE CHANCE OF DAMAGE TO HONG KONG'S REPUTATION PARAGON OF FREE TRADING SOCIETY?
THAT
ANY
AS, AS YOU SAY,
THE
OR
SIR DAVID: FIRST POINT I'D LIKE TO MAKE IS THAT THE OPENING CLOSING OF THE MARKETS IS A DECISION FOR THE MARKETS THEMSELVES, IT'S NOT A GOVERNMENT DECISION. IT'S ENTIRELY WITHIN THEIR POWER TO OPEN OR CLOSE AND THE GOVERNMENT HAS NO POWER TO ORDER THEM TO DO ONE THING OR THE OTHER. THEY ARE AUTONOMOUS ON THAT. SECOND POINT IS THAT THE PROBLEMS EARLIER THIS WEEK, AND ODDLY ENOUGH, THE BULL MARKET THE WEEK BEFORE, SHOWED VERY CLEAR WEAKNESSES IN OUR SYSTEM. THERE'S NO DOUBT AT ALL THAT THE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURES ARE NOT AS EFFICIENT AS A MARKET IN HONG KONG OUGHT TO
HAVE. THEY CLEARLY WILL HAVE ΤΟ BE IMPROVED. I KNOW THE STOCK MARKET ALREADY HAD THIS IN MIND, AND INDEED, THEY'VE JUST APPOINTED SOMEBODY TO ADVISE THEM ON DOING THAT. THAT'S ONE THING THAT MUST BE IMPROVED. OTHER POINT: NOBODY CAN REALLY BE COMFORTABLE WITH MARKETS WHICH REMAIN CLOSED FOR A SUBSTANTIAL PERIOD OF TIME. SO IT IS A GOOD THING THAT THE MARKETS ARE GOING TO BE RE-OPENED ON MONDAY. I TRUST THAT THERE WILL NOT BE DAMAGE TO THE HONG KONG MARKET AND ITS REPUTATION IN PARTICULAR. PEOPLE ROUND THE WORLD ARE GOING TO BE LOOKING IN A DIFFERENT WAY NEXT WEEK AT THE WHOLE STOCK MARKET SYSTEM, FROM THE WAY THEY WERE LOOKING AT IT LAST WEEK.
QUESTION (INAUDIBLE)
·
SIR DAVID: FIRST, ON THE HONG KONG DOLLAR, I DON'T THINK IT WILL HAVE AN EFFECT. THIS IS WHERE THE PEGGING OF THE HONG KONG DOLLAR TO THE U.S. DOLLAR IS VERY HELPFUL; THAT GIVES US STABILITY то THE EXCHANGE SYSTEM, WHICH IS HELPFUL FOR HONG KONG AND HELPFUL FOR BUSINESSMEN. SECOND ONE, THE BANKING SYSTEM, NO I DON'T HAVE WORRIES ABOUT THAT. WE WENT, AS YOU KNOW, THROUGH A PERIOD OF CONSIDERABLE CRISIS IN OUR BANKING SYSTEM OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, AND AS A RESULT OF THAT, THE SUPERVISORY TECHNIQUES HAVE BEEN GREATLY IMPROVED. WE SHOULD BENEFIT FROM THE LESSONS OF THAT LAST PROBLEM. IT'S ACTUALLY A VERY GOOD EXAMPLE, I THINK, OF THE WAY IN WHICH HONG KONG CAN AND DOES BENEFIT WHEN THINGS GO WRONG. WHEN THE BANKING SYSTEM GOT INTO TROUBLE, IT SHOWED OUR WEAKNESSES AND THE WEAKNESSES ARE NOW BEING CORRCTED. IF RECENT EVENTS SHOW THAT THERE ARE WEAKNESSES MARKET SYSTEM, THEN THOSE WEAKNESSES, TOO, MUST BE CORRECTED. WE WILL BENEFIT AS A RESULT.
I
IN OUR HOPE
WITH
THE
WAS
U.S. THEIR
QUESTIONER: WHAT HAVE YOU ACHIEVED IN TALKING GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ON THE REFUGEE PROBLEM AND WHAT REACTION? (PART OF QUESTION ON PROTECTIONISM INAUDIBLE.)
/SIR DAVID:
Page 20Page 21