ENG-1995 — Page 524

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.