Singapore hype good lesson not to fear Shanghai
A favorite story among Hong Kong financial reporters in the 80s and 90s was the competition with Singapore as the region's premier financial center.
That was hyped up by every newspaper in town as an unfolding drama in which the lead players were engaged in a life and death struggle for survival. Alarmists were having a field day dispensing prognoses of doom whenever some obscure research firm published results of dubious surveys showing a tip of the scale in favor of Singapore.
Even an inconsequential piece of information, like falling behind Singapore in foreign exchange transactions, could envelope the Hong Kong financial community with a deep sense of foreboding. Fanned by financial journalists and headline-grabbing politicians, the threat of Singapore seemed most menacing to many Hong Kong people.
