During the 1998 financial crisis, devaluation would have hurt those who owned local real estate but had little earnings or assets in US dollars. Not surprisingly, Hong Kong’s oligopoly of property tycoons opposed changing the peg despite the currency’s gross overvalue at the time.
1998年金融危机期间，贬值会损及拥有香港本地房产但鲜有美元收入或资产的群体的利益。香港处于寡头垄断地位的地产大亨不顾港币当时处在明显高估的状态，依然反对改革联系汇率。香港为保持7.8的汇率付出了6年经济停滞的代价——上述代价的承担者是全体香港公民。