Black Saturday (1983)

Black Saturday (September 24, 1983) is the name given to the crisis when the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate was at an all time low. On that day, the USD $1 = HKD $9.6. [Jao YC. [1998] (1998). Money and Finance in Hong Kong Retrospect and Prospect. World Scientific Publishing. ISBN 980234813] For a period, Hong Kong stores began quoting products in US dollar prices, because of the uncertain fluctuation in domestic currency.

History

From November 1974 to October 1983, Hong Kong was under a floating rate regime. The political talks of Hong Kong's handover of sovereignty back to China involving UK's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s visit to Beijing began to send consumer confidence down in 1982. The stalling of the Sino-British Joint Declaration also contributed to a pessimistic attitude. The collection of events eventually resulted in "Black Saturday,” which came in the form of a currency, banking and fiscal crisis [Jao YC. [2001] (2001). The Asian Financial Crisis and the Ordeal of Hong Kong. Quorum, Greenwood. ISBN 1567204473] .

Response

The government responded with a Linked exchange rate in October 17 1983.

ee also

* Economic bubble

References