Description

Third in a series of 12 volumes, this report covers

• corporate governance, and the currency board arrangement in Hong Kong, China
• the Central Provident Fund, and the dichotomized financial system of Singapore
• Taipei,China's banking environment and reform measures

About 165 pages.

Contents

Foreword, Preface, Contents, and Acrononyms and Abbreviations [ PDF: 32kb | 12 pages ]

Corporate Governance in Hong Kong, China: Rising to the Challenge of Globalization [ PDF: 318kb | 20 pages ]

INTRODUCTION

STATE OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

• Characteristics of Firms
• Regulatory Framework

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED AND MEASURES UNDERTAKEN

• Ensuring Independence of Management
• Disclosure and Transparency
• Financial Disclosure of People�s Republic of China Companies Listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, China

MAJOR CASES OF POOR CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

• The Peregrine Case
• The CA Pacific Securities Case

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

PROSPECTS FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

APPENDIX

NOTES

REFERENCES

The Currency Board Arrangement in Hong Kong, China: Viability and Optimality Through the Crisis [ PDF: 431kb | 34 pages ]

SUMMARY

• Overview
• The Currency Board Arrangement in Hong Kong, China
• Technical Assessment
• Economic Optimality
• Relevance of Hong Kong, China's Experience for Asia

TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY AND OPTIMALITY: AN OVERVIEW

• Currency Board Arrangements: Three Anchors for Fixing the Exchange Rate
• Economic Optimality of Fixing the Exchange Rate Through a Currency Board Arrangement

THE CURRENCY BOARD ARRANGEMENT IN HONG KONG, CHINA

• How the System Began
• Initial Operations of the Link
• Toward the Establishment of a Central Bank
• The Strengthening of the Market Exchange Rate in the 1990s
• The Real-Time Gross Settlement System
• The Monetary Base and the Currency Board Arrangement
• Autopilot(?) Developments after the October 1997 Attack

TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT

• Vulnerability, Strength, and Uniqueness of the Currency Board Arrangement
• Cash Arbitrage as a Nonstarter
• The Argentina, Estonia, Lithuania Model of a Convertible Monetary Base
• Reservations about the Argentina, Estonia, Lithuania Model
• Overall Comments on Technical Feasibility

ECONOMIC OPTIMALITY

• Williamson's "Four Virtues and Seven Vices" of Currency Board Arrangement
• The Economics of Small Open Economies: Fixed versus Floating Exchange Rate
• Growth and Inflation in Hong Kong, China
• Inflation and Asset Price Bubbles
• Overall Comments on Optimality

RELEVANCE OF HONG KONG, CHINA�S EXPERIENCE FOR ASIA

• Hong Kong, China's System as an Idiosyncratic Currency Board Arrangement
• Can Hong Kong, China's System or the Argentina, Estonia, Lithuania Model Be Imitated?
• Indonesia as an Example

NOTES

REFERENCES

Central Provident Fund in Singapore: A Capital Market Boost or a Drag? [ PDF: 387kb | 26 pages ]

A BRIEF HISTORY

• Central Provident Fund as a Financing Tool

CHANGES IN THE CENTRAL PROVIDENT FUND SCHEME

THE CENTRAL PROVIDENT FUND SCHEME AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT BOND MARKET

ISSUANCE OF GOVERNMENT SECURITIES

• The Secondary Market and Trading System
• Holdings of Singapore Government Securities
• Turnover of Singapore Government Securities

THE CENTRAL PROVIDENT FUND SCHEME AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY MARKET

• Government Philosophy on Risky Investments with Central Provident Fund Savings
• Central Provident Fund-Approved Investment Schemes
• Impact of Central Provident Fund-Approved Investments on Trading Volume and Prices

MACROECONOMIC POLICY IMPLICATIONS OF THE CENTRAL PROVIDENT FUND'S ROLE

CONCLUSION

APPENDIXES

NOTES

REFERENCES