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50-496: The International Finance Centre (abbreviated as IFC ) is a skyscraper and integrated commercial development on the waterfront of Hong Kong 's Central District . A prominent landmark on Hong Kong Island , IFC consists of two skyscrapers (1 IFC and 2 IFC), the IFC mall, and the 55-storey Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong , respectively. 2 IFC is the second- tallest building in Hong Kong at

100-453: A British colony in 1841 and its subsequent development as a trading centre. Throughout its history, the harbour has seen numerous reclamation projects undertaken on both shores, many of which have caused controversy in recent years. Environmental concerns have been expressed about the effects of these expansions, in terms of water quality and loss of natural habitat. It has also been proposed that benefits of land reclamation may be less than

150-583: A bigger crisis and saved the market". Most stocks acquired during that operation were successively disposed with the creation of a tracker fund, the TraHK . This reduced the portfolio of Hong Kong equities to 5.3% of the reserves in 2003. However, the percentage crept back and had risen above 10% by 2006. In August 1998, as part of its wider remit to protect the currency, the HKMA lent the Thai government US$ 1   billion from

200-509: A fleet of Taiping war boats was on the verge of a naval battle against Chinese imperial war boats defending the harbour. The Chinese defenders were ordered away by the British colonial authorities. These incidents caused rising tension that would eventually lead to the Arrow War . The harbour was originally called "Hong Kong Harbour", but was later renamed to "Victoria Harbour", to assure shelter for

250-578: A height of 412 m (1,351.7 ft), behind the International Commerce Centre in West Kowloon , and the 38th-tallest building in the world. It is the fourth-tallest building in the Greater China region and the eighth-tallest office building in the world, based on structural heights ; it is of similar height to the former World Trade Center . The Airport Express Hong Kong station

300-504: A length of 230 m, making it the world's largest advertisement ever put on a skyscraper. Tower 1 is also known as 1IFC and branded in lowercase letters, as " One ifc ". Likewise, Tower 2 is also known as 2IFC and branded as " Two ifc ". 1IFC opened in December 1998, towards the end of the Asian financial crisis . Tenants included ING Bank , Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp , Fidelity International ,

350-627: A library of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority Information Centre, occupy the 55th floor. The 88th floor of the tower contains the office of the chief executive of the HKMA, and is served by an individual lift. The Chief Executive is appointed for a five-year term by the Financial Secretary , and is continuously renewable with no term limit. The chief executive is supported by a number of deputy chief executives, shown below in order of appointment. The HKMA hosted

400-479: A stability pact with central banks in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia to engage in repurchase agreements , which provide liquidity on a two-way basis. The Central Moneymarkets Unit (CMU), established in the 1990, provides computerised clearing and settlement facilities for Exchange Fund Bills and Notes. It extended the service to other Hong Kong dollar debt securities in late 1993. A seamless interface allow

450-660: A terminal for cruises, the Ocean Terminal . Another cruise terminal ( Kai Tak Cruise Terminal ) has recently been opened. Hong Kong Monetary Authority The Hong Kong Monetary Authority ( HKMA ) is the central banking institution of Hong Kong . It is a government authority founded on 1 April 1993 when the Office of the Exchange Fund and the Office of the Commissioner of Banking merged. The organisation reports directly to

500-514: A wide variety of restaurants. Anchored by Lane Crawford , PALACE Cinema (part of Broadway Circuit) , and C!ty'super , the first official Apple Store was also located in this mall (a 3-storey flagship store in Hong Kong). In May 2018, the first Shake Shack restaurant in Hong Kong was opened in the mall. The IFC towers have been featured in several Hollywood films, including Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life , where Lara Croft leaps off

550-512: Is a luxury hotel that was built near IFC One and Two. It was completed and opened in October 2005. The 206 m (674 ft), 60-storey oceanfront hotel is the only Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong. The hotel has 399 guest suites, and 519 serviced apartments. Amenities include a French restaurant Caprice and spa. The IFC Mall is an 74,000 square metres (800,000 sq ft), 4-storey luxury shopping mall , with many luxury retail brands and

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600-400: Is directly beneath it, with subway lines to Hong Kong International Airport . IFC was constructed and is owned by IFC Development, a consortium of Sun Hung Kai Properties , Henderson Land and Towngas . In 2003, Financial Times , HSBC , and Cathay Pacific put up an advertisement on the facade that stretched more than 50 storeys , covering an area of 19,000 m (200,000 square ft) and

650-417: Is generally considered to be the line formed between the westernmost extremity of Siu Chau Wan (小酒灣) and A Kung Ngam . The western boundary is generally considered to consist of a line drawn from the westernmost point of Hong Kong Island to the westernmost point of Green Island , thence a straight line drawn from the westernmost point of Green Island to the southeasternmost point of Tsing Yi , thence along

700-583: Is intenselly weathered . Victoria Harbour is known for its panoramic night view and skyline, particularly in the direction towards Hong Kong Island where the skyline of skyscrapers is superimposed over the ridges behind. Among the best places to view the harbour are the Peak Tower atop Victoria Peak , or from the piazza at the Cultural Centre or the promenade of Tsim Sha Tsui on the Kowloon side. Rides on

750-451: Is made easier by two factors: the first is the openness of the economy, with an aggregate demand heavily dependent on international trading partners; this reduces the risk of classic liquidity traps . The second factor is the scarce political clout of the trade unions, which makes it easier to trim the nominal salaries during recessionary times. Moreover, the high saving rates and the moral stigma attached to bankruptcy have kept relatively low

800-470: Is no bridge crossing the harbour, but there are three cross-harbour road tunnels: Cross-Harbour Tunnel (opened 1972), Eastern Harbour Crossing (1989), and Western Harbour Crossing (1997). The three tunnels act as important linkages between the Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. Four Mass Transit Railway routes also run under the harbour. From west to east, they are: The Star Ferry has been crossing

850-624: Is now called Victoria Harbour is found in Zheng He 's sailing maps of the China coast, dated c.1425, which appear in the Wubei Zhi ( A Treatise on Armament Technology ), a comprehensive 17th-century military book. While the harbour was charted in later maps, the first map depicting it in detail is an 1810 marine chart prepared for the East India Company by Daniel Ross and Philip Maughan, lieutenants of

900-486: Is pronounced similarly to "death". The highrise is designed to accommodate financial institutions. For example, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is located at the 55th floor. It is equipped with advanced telecommunications, raised floors for flexible cabling management, and nearly column-free floor plans. The building expects to accommodate up to 15,000 people. It is one of relatively few buildings in

950-431: The 1997 Asian financial crisis , currency speculators sold the Hong Kong dollar heavily and shorted local stocks and Hang Seng Index futures. The government controversially used the exchange fund to acquire HK$ 120   billion ( US$ 15   billion) worth of blue-chip shares in a two-week market intervention, beginning 12 August 1998 with the aim of punishing and deterring currency speculators . The intervention

1000-648: The Bombay Marine . Some of the first recreational activities to take place in the harbour were water competitions such as swimming and water polo in the 1850s, undertaken by members of Hong Kong's first sports club, the Victoria Recreation Club. During the Taiping Rebellion , armed rebels paraded the streets of Hong Kong. On 21 December 1854, the Hong Kong police arrested several armed rebels who were about to attack Kowloon City . On 23 January 1855,

1050-609: The Financial Secretary . The exchange fund was established and managed originally by the Currency Ordinance in 1935, now named the Exchange Fund Ordinance. Under the Ordinance, the HKMA's primary objective is to ensure the stability of the Hong Kong currency and the banking system. It is also responsible for promoting the efficiency, integrity and development of the financial system. The HKMA issues banknotes only in

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1100-668: The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority and the Financial Times . The Hong Kong Monetary Authority purchased 14 floors in 2IFC; the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation signed a 12-year lease on 24,000-square-foot (2,200 m); Nomura Group agreed to take 60,000 sq ft (5,600 m) at 2 IFC; the Financial Times , an existing tenant at One IFC, took 10,000 sq ft (900 m). Ernst & Young took six floors (from

1150-542: The Star Ferry , including the route between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui , are another way to view the harbour and cityscape. As the natural centre of the territory, the harbour has played host to many major public shows, including the annual fireworks displays on the second night of the Lunar New Year . These shows are popular with tourists and locals alike, and the display is usually telecast on local television. To enhance

1200-491: The 11th to 18th floors), or about 180,000 square feet (16,700 m), in 2IFC, to become the biggest tenant. 2IFC, which was completed at the height of the SARS epidemic, was initially available to rent at HK$ 25-HK$ 35 per square foot. In 2007, as the economy has improved, high quality (" Grade A ") office space is highly sought after; rents for current leases are $ 150 per square foot as of March 2007. One International Finance Centre

1250-531: The Aggregate Balance attributes to increase the transparency of the Currency Board operation. In 1995, Nobel Prize–winning economist Milton Friedman mistakenly predicted the Hong Kong dollar's demise within two years of the 1997 handover . He also predicted the absorption of the territory's financial reserves of US$ 43   billion ( HK$ 335.4   billion) by Beijing, which would not be able to bear

1300-533: The British fleet under Queen Victoria . The subject of pollution came to the fore in the 1970s with the rapid growth of the manufacturing sector. The water club races were stopped in 1973 due to pollution in the harbour, a year after the former RMS Queen Elizabeth burned and sank at the Tsing Yi island anchorage. Studies also showed excessive nitrogen input from discharges of the Pearl River Delta into

1350-546: The city. It is included the Linked Exchange Rate System and noticeable features such as the Aggregate Balance, Certificates of Indebtedness and coins issued and the Outstanding Exchange Fund Bills and Notes. The Interest Rate Adjustment Mechanism is an automatic system that maintains the stability of the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate. Lately the HKMA has been disclosing the forecast change in

1400-599: The co-existence of the CMU and the newly launched real-time gross settlement (RTGS) inter-bank payment system. This enables end-of-day delivery versus payment (DVP) services as opposed to Non-DVP . In 2018, HKMA developed the infrastructure for the Faster Payment System and launched it in September of that year. Banking stability mainly depends on the banking system and supervision. A three-tier banking system ( 銀行三級發牌制度 )

1450-406: The denomination of ten Hong Kong dollars. The role of issuing other banknotes is delegated to the note-issuing banks in the territory, namely The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation , Standard Chartered Bank and Bank of China . The official reserves of Hong Kong and the banking system are important underpinnings of the linked exchange rate system . Since 1995, the HKMA has entered into

1500-400: The eastern and northern coastal lines of Tsing Yi to its westernmost extremity, and thence a straight line drawn true north towards the mainland. There are several islands within the harbour: Due to land reclamation, the following are former islands that are now connected to adjacent lands or larger islands: The geology around of the harbour is made of a granitic copula which in parts

1550-502: The effects of decreased harbour width, affecting the number of vessels passing through the harbour. Nonetheless Victoria Harbour still retains its founding role as a port for thousands of international vessels each year. The harbour is a major tourist attraction of Hong Kong. Lying in the middle of the territory's dense urban region, the harbour is the site of annual fireworks displays and its promenades are used as gathering places for residents and also tourists. The first reference to what

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1600-535: The end of November every year, the outer walls of buildings in the central business districts on both sides of the harbours are dressed with Christmas-related decorations, and replaced with Lunar New Year -related ones by January. Victoria Harbour is home to most of the port facilities of Hong Kong , making Hong Kong amongst the world's busiest . An average of 220,000 ships visit the harbour each year, including both oceangoing vessels and river vessels, for both goods and passengers. The Kwai Tsing Container Terminals in

1650-600: The fund as part of a $ 17   billion bailout organised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The HKMA is headquartered in Tower 2 of the International Finance Centre . It purchased fourteen floors in Tower 2. The 55th, 56th, and the 77th to 88th floors were bought for US$ 480   million in 2001. An exhibition area currently containing an exhibit of Hong Kong's monetary history, along with

1700-490: The harbour "...is a precious national asset and we must preserve it for future generations. I believe an insightful and visionary chief executive would support our stance and work with us to protect the harbour". Reclamation work also led to the demolition of Queen's Pier and Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier , structures of historic significance, to massive public opposition. Victoria Harbour covered an area of about 41.88 km (16.17 sq mi) in 2004. The eastern boundary

1750-598: The harbour for decades. After completion of the Central and Wan Chai Reclamation Feasibility Study in 1989, the Land Development Policy Committee endorsed a concept for gradual implementation of this additional reclamation. It consists of three district development cells separated by parks, namely, Central , Tamar and Exhibition . The latest proposed reclamation, extending along the waterfront from Sheung Wan to Causeway Bay , faced public opposition, as

1800-558: The harbour has become a pivotal location to Hongkongers in general. Activists have denounced the government's actions as destructive not only to the natural environment, but also to what is widely considered one of the most prized natural assets of the territory. NGOs, including the Society for Protection of the Harbour , were formed to resist further attempts to reduce the size of the waterbody, with its chairman, Christine Loh , quoted as saying that

1850-489: The harbour since the late 19th century. The operated ferry routes today are: Central to Tsim Sha Tsui and Wan Chai to Tsim Sha Tsui, the Wan Chai/Central to Hung Hom services closing in 2011 for lack of patronage. Other regular ferry services also operate in the harbour. The Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry Company used to operate numerous cross-harbour routes between various piers of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Many of

1900-419: The level of defaults on mortgages even during the deep recessions after the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the SARS epidemic in 2002/2003. Under colonial rule , the HKMA did not place funds with local banks not rated by Moody's Investors Service or Standard & Poor's . Only the three note-issuing banks could receive deposits because they had been rated by "objective international standards". During

1950-501: The meeting of the World Bank and IMF in 1997, at an estimated cost of HK$ 485   million. Yam hoped that hosting the event would cement Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre. He added, "The presence of the world's leading finance ministers, central bank governors and top commercial bankers in Hong Kong so soon after the change of sovereignty will help boost international and local confidence in Hong Kong". The HKMA

2000-574: The owners decided not to allow renaming of the building. Current office tenants include Banco Santander, Baring Private Equity Asia, BGC Partners, Blackstone Group, BNP Paribas, China Universal Asset Management , Citadel, Coatue Management, DST Advisors, E Fund Management, Hillhouse Capital, Hony Capital, Investec Asset Management, Jefferies, Lazard, Lexington Partners, Millennium Management, Nomura, Sidley Austin LLP, Silver Lake, State Street Bank & Trust Company, UBS and Warburg Pincus. The Four Seasons Hotel

2050-671: The popularity of the harbour as a sightseeing location, the government introduced a show dubbed A Symphony of Lights . Also recently opened was the Avenue of Stars , built along the promenade outside the New World Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui . Modeled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame , it honours the most illustrious people the Hong Kong film industry has produced over the past decades. By

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2100-503: The routes are now operated by First Ferry . Some of the piers no longer exist because of reclamation projects, or many of the routes became unprofitable. Currently, the company continues to operate vehicular ferry services for vehicles carrying dangerous goods that are prohibited within tunnel crossings. For international passenger traffic and traffic to mainland China and Macau , there are two ferry terminals, namely Hong Kong–Macau Ferry Terminal and Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal , and

2150-584: The second phase of the ifc mall. This 412-metre-tall (1,351.7 ft), building, currently Hong Kong's second tallest, is quoted as having 88 storeys and 22 high-ceiling trading floors to qualify as being extremely auspicious in Cantonese culture . It is, however, short of the magic number, because "taboo floors" like the 14th and 24th floors are omitted as being inauspicious – in Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese , "4"

2200-474: The subrogation of Hong Kong's monetary policy to the United States. As with any monetary system not based on a fiat money (which includes currency boards, currency unions and the traditional gold standard ) it is impossible to use monetary policy to stabilise the business cycle : this means that any macroeconomic adjustment has to be achieved by changes in the prices of assets and labour. In Hong Kong, this

2250-649: The then-under-construction 2 International Finance Centre, landing on a ship out in the Kowloon Bay, The Dark Knight , where Batman leapt from 2 IFC to 1 IFC, and Godzilla vs Kong, where an action scene then takes place. Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrumental in Hong Kong's establishment as

2300-473: The western part of the harbour is the main container handling facility, operating round the clock. Some 19.8 million containers (measured in TEUs ) were handled by the region in 2016. Some 400 container ships serve Hong Kong weekly, connecting to over 500 destinations around the world. For many years until 2004, Hong Kong handled the most containers TEUs but slipped to sixth place on declining volumes by 2016. There

2350-451: The world equipped with double-deck elevators . Floor numbers 55, 56, 77 and 88 were bought by the HKMA for HK$ 3.7 billion in 2001. An exhibition area, currently containing an exhibit of Hong Kong's monetary history, and a library of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority Information Centre occupy the 55th floor, and are open to the public during office hours. Despite common practice for owners to allow naming buildings after its important tenants,

2400-416: Was implemented in the 1980s. Institutions are also managed differently depending on whether they are categorised as licensed banks, restricted license banks or deposit-taking institutions. Overseas banks may also establish local representative offices in Hong Kong. In 2019, the HKMA began issuing the first batch of virtual bank licenses in Hong Kong; these banks were not required to have physical branches in

2450-413: Was opened on 6 July 1998. It is 688 feet (210 m) tall, has 39 stories and four trading floors, 18 high speed passenger lifts in 4 zones, and comprises 784,000 square feet (72,800 m). Completed in 2004, has a similar design and appearance with the “Two IFC”. The building currently accommodates approximately 5,000 people. Two International Finance Centre, completed on 18 October 2003, is attached to

2500-480: Was widely criticised as being detrimental to Hong Kong's reputation as one of the world's financial centres. Democratic Party leader Martin Lee Chu-ming criticised the government for becoming "a player, a very key player" instead of being a regulator. Conversely, one speculator said in hindsight that the government's intervention "raised public confidence in the market when it was near total collapse" and "prevented

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