No plans to change US dollar peg: HKMA chief
The chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Eddie Yue, said on Tuesday that there’s no plan to change the linked exchange rate system (LERS), saying it is the cornerstone of monetary and financial stability in the SAR. Writing on the authority’s official column to mark the 40th anniversary of the Hong Kong dollar’s peg to the greenback, Yue said the system has helped the SAR weather "a succession of shocks and crises" as well as many severe challenges over the years.  "The LERS is the strong breakwater, or typhoon shelter, that protects us from stormy seas," he wrote. "We have no intention and we see no need to change the LERS." He also said the exchange rate regime is an important and serious matter that should not be changed lightly.  "Change is constant. That is even more true of the financial markets, and the implications are more far-reaching... We keep a system not for the sake of keeping it, but because we have thought things through carefully to reach an informed decision." The HKMA chief also brushed aside comments that Hong Kong is experiencing high interest rates partly because of the currency peg. "Many other economies and financial centres are also feeling the pain of high interest rates, even those that do not adopt a fixed exchange rate. Whether or not Hong Kong implements the LERS does not seem to be the most critical factor,” he noted.