The emergence of China as an economic superpower

As the Chinese Lunar New Year creeps closer, more and more Hong Kong people are lining up outside the central banks to get brand-new, crisp bank notes for their lai sees, or "money of good luck." In fact, so many people are beginning to line up for new notes that the HKMA (Hong Kong Monetary Authority) had to issue a statement reminding individuals that old "good-as-new" notes are equally good for lai-see, for the sake of environmental protection.

More than 350 million bank notes are often destroyed and reissued during the Lunar New Year festivities, as many people exchange in older notes for newer ones in hopes of bringing good fortune to their families. Yet the environmental cost is huge: Joseph Yam, Chief Executive of the HKMA, said that the amount of bank notes issued for this purpose requires 500 cubic meters of storage space, equalling twenty 20ft x 20ft containers. Also, 400 tonnes of cotton is required to produce the bank notes, as well as an unimaginable amount of greenhouse gas emission from the 500 trips with security escort trucks to transport the notes to their respective destinations.

Yam said that the increasing use of good-as-new notes is a good sign. About 165 million bank notes reissued last Lunar New Year were good-as-new notes, up from 53 million the previous year. The three central banks (or rather the three banks allowed to issue bank notes) have a good supply of good-as-new notes this year and will be able to reissue them for much of the demand. The HKMA also promotes the reuse of lai see packets, traditional red packets used to envelope lai see money, in which more than 50% of all respondents to a recent survey said they would. For one thing, probably the lady who started waiting outside a bank for new bank notes at 5am won't reuse her red packets.

Do you give out lai see?