About the Author

Leo F. Goodstadt brings to this book personal experience of policy making at the highest levels and extensive access to decision-makers and business leaders since 1962. As Head of the Central Policy Unit, he was chief policy adviser to the Hong Kong Government from 1989 to 1997 and involved in a wide range of major reforms including elections, welfare, administrative efficiency and budgetary policies. He has had a successful career as a consultant economist to leading business corporations both before and since his government service. He became well-known for his incisive reporting on Hong Kong and China as Deputy Editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review and Hong Kong correspondent for Euromoney. His academic research has been widely published. He is an adjunct professor in the School of Business Studies, Trinity College, University of Dublin and an honorary fellow of the University of Hong Kong.

Reviews

"An important and useful contribution to Hong Kong's banking and colonial history, meticulously researched, and a must read for anyone who cares about for Hong Kong's survival as an international financial centre." -- Andrew Sheng, Former Chairman of the H

"Goodstadt brilliantly weaves a tapestry that resolves major puzzles about Hong Kong's growth as an international financial centre during this pivotal fifty-year period. This is a devastating expose of the consequences of the British colonial government's

"The rise of Hong Kong as a major international financial centre under British rule, and as a borrowed place in a borrowed time, is an amazing story of successes and challenges. I have known Leo for many years and consider him one of the most knowledgeabl

"This book is an important and timely contribution to the economic history of colonial Hong Kong. Written in a lively and controversial style, it draws on wide reading of the government archives, on secondary sources, and on the author's unrivalled person