In that sense we may be a victim of our own success on the exchange rate front, although I would not wish to place too much weight on this point - it may be a viable alternative only for a minority. However, if funding needs can be properly satisfied via alternative routes, we ought perhaps to rest content. Our role at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority is to help ensure that the infrastructure will allow the market to develop if borrowers and lenders wish it to, rather than to force the pace artificially. I believe, however, that there may be a stronger underlying interest in debt instruments among prospective borrowers and lenders than is currently visible on the surface. The move to list Exchange Fund notes on the Stock Exchange and the advent of the Mandatory Provident Fund are examples of potential significant new sources of demand for debt instruments. It is a challenge for all of us to identify and exploit these and any other pockets of latent interest. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is in regular dialogue with the Hong Kong Capital Markets Association and we maintain an open mind, and an even more open ear, to ideas which people like you may have about the development of our markets. I should mention that we have regular contact also with the authorities of other centres in the region in order that we can gain from each other’s experience in such matters.
Summing up, although I described our market infrastructure in Hong Kong as relatively mature, you will have realised - if you were ever in any doubt - that there is no shortage of change and of potential new opportunities, although possibly not so many as in one or two of the other economies, which I reviewed earlier. I hope that all of you will participate in the continuing evolution of Hong Kong’s capital markets, and use Hong Kong as your base for incursions into other territories where similar or greater opportunities exist. Our aim in Hong Kong is to provide an open and welcoming environment for business, and to be judged on our merits as a truly international centre which possesses that all important critical mass across the full range of financial, professional and commercial services and is ideally located as a hub for the region’s future development. Note: FDI=inward foreign direct investment; for India the first three columns are 198896, and the fourth 1991-96. BIS Review 52/1999  4  5  BIS Review 52/1999