'Certainty' was the key word the government used when it linked the Hong Kong dollar to the US dollar back in 1983. And it is the same word many commentators return to as they consider whether the peg should be kept, even as it has pushed the value of the Hong Kong dollar lower compared with other currencies and ushered in higher inflation.
Under the fixed exchange system, the Hong Kong dollar is pegged at HK$7.80 to the US dollar, and has declined along with the greenback.
And interest rates have been affected, too. Hong Kong's interbank markets keep local interest rates in line with United States rates to help balance the flow of money going from one currency to the other, which helps keep the peg within a narrow range.
The problem is that even though Hong Kong inflation is running at about 4 per cent, interest rates are being pushed down as the US cuts rates to boost its weak economy, thus possibly fuelling inflation locally.
The dual decline has caused other problems. In addition to inflation, recruitment has become an issue. From top executives to maids, the fall of the Hong Kong and US dollars against most other major currencies has made it hard for Hong Kong to compete for the best talent, since salaries in Hong Kong dollars are comparatively lower.
Despite these setbacks, academics, bankers, brokers and corporate executives told the South China Morning Post they still support the peg as a way of providing a stable exchange rate.
In the early part of last century, the Hong Kong dollar was at times linked to the value of silver and Britain's sterling. Later, it was allowed to float freely until 1983. At that time it came under severe pressure from capital outflows during Sino-British negotiations over the future of the then colony.