Hong Kong and Global Finance: The Limits to Free Market Foundations

Hong Kong occupied a unique position between the British empire and China that catapulted it to global importance in the century before the founding of the Public Republic of China in 1949. The legacy of British colonial institutions, including the currency board, banks, language, legal framework and well established property rights, all contributed to the ability to extend Hong Kong’s traditional role as an imperial entrepot into the post-colonial era. But Hong Kong’s success was not built on free markets; this article shows that the role of the state is much more complex than is usually acknowledged now or at the time.