This Selected Issues paper reviews medium-term fiscal challenges for Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Hong Kong SAR). It focuses on key considerations that need to be evaluated when formulating a medium-term reserves policy in the face of fiscal challenges, such as accommodating future...

In this study, quantitative, industry-level measures of the intensity of competition are measured. Various methodologies and data used for measuring competition are also discussed. The level of intensity is also compared. The following statistical data are also presented in detail: gross fixed...

Hong Kong SAR was hit hard by the global financial crisis, which started out in the U.S. and spilled over to the rest of the world. Three years later, vulnerabilities in the euro area''s financial system and concerns over a hard landing in Mainland China have started to weigh on Hong Kong''s...

We assess the effectiveness of macroprudential policies against a number of different indicators of property sector activity and financial stability. At the cross-country level the use of LTV caps decelerates property price growth. Both LTV and DTI caps slow property lending growth. LTV caps...

The Executive Board of the IMF has concluded the consultation discussions with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR). Hong Kong SAR has rebounded from the global financial crisis, and growth should be at 53⁄4 percent this year. Unemployment has fallen to low levels, and real...

This paper discusses some of the issues that concern the operation of currency boards, by comparison to conventional exchange rate pegs, and looks at the experiences of three examples of this type of arrangement: Argentina (from 1991), Hong Kong (from 1983) and Estonia (from 1992). In all three...

This study estimates quantitative, industry-level measures of the intensity of competition and also discusses various methodologies and data used for measuring competition. The following data are also included in the study: gross fixed capital formation, selected price indicators, labor force,...

This paper uses an econometric model of residential property prices in Hong Kong SAR to assess the effectiveness of alternative policies in slowing the increase in property prices. The rapid rise in property prices is well explained by macroconomic fundamentals; real GDP per capital, real...

This 2006 Article IV Consultation highlights that Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has recovered strongly from a series of shocks in recent years and, as expected, the pace of growth is now moderating. Growth was 6.8 percent (year over year) in the first three quarters of 2006, somewhat...

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR)'s healthy labor market and supportive fiscal policy helped its domestic economy's resilience, while its gross domestic product (GDP) growth was marginally slow owing to its weak external environment. Its fiscal policy has been effective in...