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Asia and Pacific > Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China

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Cover IMF Working Papers
The Economic Consequences of Social Unrest: Evidence from Initial Public Offerings
Mr. Philip Barrett, Thomas J. Boulton, and Terry D. Nixon
Prior research attributes negative stock market performance following episodes of social unrest to elevated uncertainty. However, social unrest does not solely increase uncertainty, but separately acts to decrease investor sentiment. To determine which effect dominates, we study initial public offering (IPO) underpricing, which responds differently to changes to uncertainty and investor sentiment. Consistent with the notion that social unrest dampens investor sentiment, we find robust evidence that IPO first-day returns are lower during times of greater social unrest. Limits to arbitrage intensify the negative relation between social unrest and underpricing. Notably, strong institutional frameworks mitigate the impact of social unrest on underpricing, suggesting that quality institutions weaken the link between investor sentiment and returns.
Keywords:
Initial public offerings; investor sentiment; social unrest; underpricing; evidence from initial public offerings; quality institution; IPO underpricing; IPO price; Initial public offering; Stock markets; Global; Caribbean
Cover Fiscal Monitor, October 2023
Fiscal Monitor, October 2023
Climate Crossroads: Fiscal Policies in a Warming World
International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept.

Abstract

The report takes stock of mitigation policies across countries and presents the trilemma facing policymakers of balancing between achieving climate goals, debt sustainability, and political feasibility. New insights from the report shows that the only way to achieve these joint goals is through a carefully calibrated mix of revenue and spending-based policies. Carbon pricing is a necessary instrument and should be part of the policy mix. However, it is not sufficient and should be complemented by policies to address market failures and catalyze private financing and investment in low-carbon technologies. Robust fiscal transfers are needed to protect vulnerable households, workers, and communities during the green transition.

Keywords:
economy abbreviation; p LW; support disinflation effort; fiscal policy support; statistics manual; inflation expectation; Greenhouse gas emissions; Fiscal stance; Global; Caribbean; Asia and Pacific; Middle East; North Africa; East Africa
Cover Technical Notes and Manuals
The Use of Mirror Data by Customs Administrations: From Principles to Practice
Anne-Marie Geourjon, Bertrand Laporte, and Mr. Gilles Montagnat-Rentier
This note discusses the relevance of mirror data analysis for customs administrations and how these administrations can adjust this technique to their needs, particularly to support the customs risk management function. Based on IMF Fiscal Affairs Department’s capacity development experience in developing countries, it describes in detail the recommended steps to be followed to analyze the data, then advises on the operational utilization of obtained results.
Keywords:
Customs administration; export; data; import; revenue mobilization; risk management; tax compliance; international trade; mirror data analysis; export data; IMF Library; analysis sustainability; Customs information; Exports; Customs administration core functions; Imports; Tariffs; Valuation, origin and classification; Sub-Saharan Africa; Africa; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Unveiling the Hidden Impact of Urban Land Rents on Total Factor Productivity
Mr. Bas B. Bakker
This paper addresses the puzzling decline of Total Factor Productivity (TFP) levels in rapidly growing economies, such as Singapore, despite advancements in technology and high GDP per capita growth. The paper proposes that TFP growth is not negative; instead, standard growth decompositions have underestimated TFP growth by overestimating the contribution of capital, failing to account for the substantial part of capital income directed to urban land rents. This leads to an overestimation of changes in capital stock's contribution to growth and thereby an underestimation of TFP growth. A revised decomposition suggests that TFP growth in economies with high land rents and rapid capital stock growth, such as Singapore, has been considerably underestimated: TFP levels have not declined but increased rapidly.
Keywords:
Total Factor Productivity; Economic Growth; Capital Stock; Land Rents; Growth Decomposition; Urban Economics; Population Density; Diminishing Returns to Scale; Technological Progress; Singapore; TFP level; re-estimating TFP; land rent; decline of total factor productivity; Capital income; Stocks; Land prices; Asia and Pacific
Cover External Sector Report, 2023
External Sector Report, 2023
External Rebalancing in Turbulent Times
International Monetary Fund. Research Dept.

Abstract

Global current account balances—the overall size of headline current account deficits and surpluses—widened for a third consecutive year in 2022. Main drivers were Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the uneven recovery from the pandemic, and the rapid tightening of US monetary policy. Concurrently, the US dollar appreciated substantially, and the uphill capital flow reappeared. IMF’s external sector assessments suggest that the overall size of excess current account deficits and surpluses has remained unchanged since 2021, after declining for several years. This highlights the importance of efforts in both excess surplus and deficit economies to promote external rebalancing. The US dollar appreciation under the “global dollar cycle”, which is driven primarily by global financial risks, has negative spillovers on activity and imports that fall on emerging market economies more severely than on advance economies. More flexible exchange rates and more anchored inflation expectations can mitigate negative spillovers to emerging markets.

Keywords:
Current account; Capital flows; Exchange rate; Global dollar cycle; Spillovers; External sector; dollar appreciation; dollar cycle; commodity exporter; CA deficit; CA surplus; CA gap; Real effective exchange rates; Current account balance; Emerging and frontier financial markets; Global; Africa
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
People’s Republic of China—Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: 2023 Article IV Consultation Discussions-Press Release; and Staff Report
International Monetary Fund. Asia and Pacific Dept
This 2023 Article IV Consultation discusses that the economic recovery in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) stalled in 2022 following a major coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak and U.S. monetary policy tightening. However, in 2023, real gross domestic product is projected to grow by 3.5 percent. The financial system remains resilient and continues to serve as an international financial center, supported by strong institutional frameworks and substantial capital and liquidity buffers. The Linked Exchange Rate System continues to function smoothly, providing a solid anchor to the economy and the financial system, allowing the latter to perform its role as an international financial center. Housing prices, which declined by about 16 percent by end-2022 from the peak in September 2021, have started to recover in early 2023. Near-term risks to the growth outlook are balanced, with systemic risk in the financial sector manageable given significant buffers. A sharper-than-expected global growth slowdown as well as escalation of regional conflicts and resulting disruptions in trade could derail the recovery. A sharp rise in global risk premia amid renewed stress in the global banking system and further tightening of monetary policy in major advanced economies could have adverse spillovers through financial channels.
Keywords:
Hong Kong SAR economy; exchange rate system; rate of HK; GDP compilation; transparency policy; household expenditure survey; Hong Kong SAR authority; Hong Kong SAR official; return on equity; expenditure measure; Housing; External sector statistics; Housing prices; Credit; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
The Internationalization of China’s Equity Markets
Juan J. Cortina, Mr. Maria Soledad Martinez Peria, Mr. Sergio L. Schmukler, and Jasmine Xiao
China’s equity markets internationalization process started in the early 2000s but accelerated after 2012, when Chinese firms’ shares listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen gradually became available to international investors. This paper studies the effects of the post-2012 internationalization events by comparing the evolution of equity financing and investment activities for: (i) domestic listed firms relative to firms that already had access to international investors and (ii) domestic listed firms that were directly connected to international markets relative to those that were not. The paper finds large increases in financial and investment activities for domestic listed and for connected firms, with significant aggregate effects. The evidence also suggests the rise in firms’ equity issuances was primarily and initially financed by domestic investors. International investors’ portfolio holdings in Chinese equity markets and ownership in firms increased markedly only once Chinese firms’ locally issued shares became part of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.
Keywords:
equity financing; equity market liberalization; firm investment; foreign investors; international investors; issuance activity; Stock Connect; portfolio holding; internationalization process; unconnected firm; China's equity markets; Stock markets; Stocks; Foreign corporations; Emerging and frontier financial markets; Market capitalization; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Central Banks as Dollar Lenders of Last Resort: Implications for Regulation and Reserve Holdings
Ms. Mitali Das, Ms. Gita Gopinath, Mr. Taehoon Kim, and Jeremy C. Stein
This paper explores how non-U.S. central banks behave when firms in their economies engage in currency mismatch, borrowing more heavily in dollars than justified by their operating exposures. We begin by documenting that, in a panel of 53 countries, central bank holdings of dollar reserves are significantly correlated with the dollar-denominated bank borrowing of their non-financial corporate sectors, controlling for a number of known covariates of reserve accumulation. We then build a model in which the central bank can deal with private-sector mismatch, and the associated risk of a domestic financial crisis, in two ways: (i) by imposing ex ante financial regulations such as bank capital requirements; or (ii) by building a stockpile of dollar reserves that allow it to serve as an ex post dollar lender of last resort. The model highlights a novel externality: individual central banks may tend to over-accumulate dollar reserves, relative to what a global planner would choose. This is because individual central banks do not internalize that their hoarding of reserves exacerbates a global scarcity of dollar-denominated safe assets, which lowers dollar interest rates and encourages firms to increase the currency mismatch of their liabilities. Relative to the decentralized outcome, a global planner may prefer stricter financial regulation (e.g., higher bank capital requirements) and reduced holdings of dollar reserves.
Keywords:
Foreign reserves; central banks; currency mismatch; lender of last resort; financial regulation; dollar reserve; bank borrowing; post dollar lender of last resort; dollar interest rates; reserve holding; International reserves; Banking crises; Currency mismatches; Reserves accumulation; Exchange rates; Global
Cover Departmental Papers
Housing Market Stability and Affordability in Asia-Pacific
Mr. Pragyan Deb, Mr. Harald Finger, Kenichiro Kashiwase, Yosuke Kido, Siddharth Kothari, Mr. Evan Papageorgiou, Henry Hoyle, and Anne Oeking
The paper intends to highlight challenges in Asian housing markets linked to fast price rises especially in the advanced economies since COVID, and more broadly including many EMs in the period leading up to COVID. It aims to draw policy lessons on how to manage stability aspects through macroprudential and other policies and how to support affordability through structural policies and targeted government support.
Keywords:
Asia Financial stability Fiscal policy Household debt Housing affordability Housing cycles Housing market Housing price at risk Macroprudential policy Monetary policy; price misalignment; housing--prices--Pacific area; Housing Price-at-Risk; housing markets in the Asia-Pacific region; housing market stability; Housing prices; Housing; Macroprudential policy instruments; Macroprudential policy; Mortgages; Asia and Pacific; Australia and New Zealand
Cover IMF Working Papers
Do Actions Speak Louder Than Words? Assessing the Effects of Inflation Targeting Track Records on Macroeconomic Performance
Mr. Zhongxia Zhang and Shiyi Wang
Inflation Targeting (IT) has become a prevalent monetary policy framework in the past three decades, as more central banks adopted and maintained price stability as their primary monetary policy mandate. Using a dataset of 68 major advanced countries and emerging markets economies, this paper evaluates the effects of inflation targeting countries’ track records on their macroeconomic performance, measured by real GDP growth and CPI inflation. This paper constructs three novel inflation targeting track record measures and establishes new stylized facts on the heterogeneity of inflation targeting countries’ tendency in managing inflation with respect to their stated objectives. This paper finds evidence that most targeters conduct dynamic inflation targeting by frequently updating inflation target bands, and their band sizes are wide-ranging across IT countries. We empirically study the contemporaneous and future effects of inflation targeting track records on countries’ macroeconomic performance. Results from the dynamic panel and local projection regressions suggest that better IT track records do not lead to superior growth and inflation rates in the short term.
Keywords:
inflation targeting; track records; dynamic target points and ranges; economic growth and inflation.; novel inflation targeting track record measure; inflation target band; countries' track records; effects of inflation targeting track records; better IT; Inflation; Monetary policy frameworks; Nominal effective exchange rate; Commodity price fluctuations; Global