Hong Kong dollars
| Hong Kong dollars | |
|---|---|
| Country: |
 Hong Kong
|
| Subdivision: | 1 dollar = 100 cents |
| ISO 4217 code : | HKD |
| Abbreviation: | HK $ |
|
Exchange rate : (August 27, 2020) |
1 EUR = 9.15 HKD 1 CHF = 8.511 HKD |
The Hong Kong dollar ( Chinese 港元 , Pinyin Gǎngyuán , Jyutping Gong 2 jyun 4 , formerly 港 圓 / 港 圆 ; coll. 港幣 / 港币 , Gǎngbì , Jyutping Gong 2 bai 6 , Kant. 港 紙 / 港 纸 , Jyutping Gong 2 zi 2 ) is the currency of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region . It is also accepted for payment in the Macau Special Administrative Region and some parts of the People's Republic of China , especially in Guangdong Province . The Hong Kong dollar is loosely pegged to the US dollar . The Hong Kong dollar ISO code is HKD .
Monetary Authority
Hong Kong was a crown colony of the British monarchy for around 154 years . After moving to the territory of the People's Republic of China on July 1, 1997, the special administrative zone retained sovereignty over currency matters according to the Basic Law and the Sino-British surrender declaration . This is exercised by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority , abbr .: HKMA ( 香港 金融 管理局 , short: 金 管局 ). The HKMA ensures that Hong Kong's entire monetary base is covered by US dollar currency reserves. For this purpose, the HKMA has one of the largest foreign exchange reserves in the world .
However, the HKMA does not issue banknotes itself, but has granted the banknotes privilege to three different banks in Hong Kong. These banks are:
| Bank | Long characters | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|
| Bank of China | 中國 銀行 | 中国 银行 |
| Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank - HSBC | 香港 上海 匯豐 銀行 - 匯豐 銀行 | 香港 上海 汇丰 银行 - 汇丰 银行 |
| Standard Chartered Bank | 渣打 銀行 | 渣打 银行 |
Banks are only allowed to issue new dollar notes if the corresponding value in US dollars corresponds to their deposit . Each of these banks issues banknotes in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 HKD in predetermined basic colors and dimensions, but these banks are free to design the banknotes. Even before the former crown colony of Great Britain was officially handed over to China in 1997, banknotes and coins showing the image of Queen Elizabeth II were slowly being taken out of circulation. Today most of Hong Kong's banknotes and coins show, among other things, the Bauhinien blossom of the species Bauhinia × blakeana , also "Hong Kong Bauhinie" ( 洋 紫荊 , yángzǐjīng , Jyutping joeng 4 zi 2 went 1 ) or "Hong Kong orchid tree" ( 香港 蘭 / 香港 兰 , xiānggǎnglán , Jyutping hoeng 1 gong 2 laan 4 ) called, city flower or emblem of Hong Kong .
In addition to the banks, the government of the former crown colony and today's special administrative area also issued banknotes, although these have small denominations. The first dollar bill appeared in 1935. Today, a HKD 10 bill is issued by the government of the Special Administrative Region.
Monetary system
The silver dollar was legal tender from 1863 to 1935 . The local currency was pegged to the pound sterling from December 1935 to November 1967 at an exchange rate of HKD 16: GBP 1 . From November 1967 to June 1972 the fixed exchange rate was HKD 14.55 per pound.
In July 1972, the Hong Kong dollar was first pegged to the US dollar. The initial parity of HKD 5.65 per USD was adjusted to HKD 5.085 per USD in February 1973. The exchange rate was released in November 1974 , but fixed again in October 1983. Since then, the Hong Kong dollar has been pegged to the American currency at an exchange rate of HKD 7.80 per US dollar, whereby the HKD was allowed to appreciate but not to depreciate.
This link was loosened further on May 1, 2005, since then the HKD has been allowed to fluctuate within a range of HKD 7.80 per US dollar, although there are no fixed values for this range.
Web links
- Official website (Chinese, English)
- Hong Kong banknotes
- The banknotes of Hong Kong (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ A brief history of Hong Kong dollar exchange rate arrangements. In: hkma.gov.hk . Retrieved November 24, 2017 .
- ↑ The West should learn from Hong Kong. In: NZZ.ch . June 30, 2017. Retrieved November 24, 2017 .
