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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (February 26) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$2,205.5 billion on January 31, 2010.
The figure is included in the Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet, which is released monthly together with the Currency Board Account.
At the end of January 2010 the total assets of the Exchange Fund, at HK$2,205.5 billion, were HK$53.9 billion higher than at the end of December 2009. Foreign currency assets increased by HK$33.7 billion and Hong Kong dollar assets increased by HK$20.2 billion.
The rise in foreign currency assets was mainly due to increases in Certificates of Indebtedness and unsettled purchases of securities. The rise in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to placements received from fiscal reserves, which was partly offset by a decrease in bank borrowings.
The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of January 2010 was HK$1,022.3 billion, an increase of HK$11.6 billion, or 1.2%, from the end of December 2009. The rise in the Monetary Base was mainly due to an increase in Certificates of Indebtedness reflecting the seasonal demand for banknotes towards Lunar New Year.
The Backing Assets increased by HK$15.7 billion, or 1.5%, to HK$1,096.8 billion. The increase was attributable mainly to the rise in the Monetary Base together with revaluation gains and interest from investments. Reflecting this, the backing ratio increased from 106.96% at the end of December 2009 to 107.29% at the end of January 2010.
Attachment
Annex 1 : Abridged Balance Sheet of the Exchange Fund
Annex 2 : Currency Board Account
For further enquiries, please contact:
Yokee Wong, Manager (Communications), at 2878 1213 or
Natalie Wu, Officer (Communications), at 2878 8246
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At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund's data are issued by the HKMA each month. Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund's Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA's policy of maintaining a high level of transparency. For the month of February 2010, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
February 8 SDDS International Reserves
(Issued) (Hong Kong's Latest Foreign
Currency Reserve Assets Figures)
February 12 SDDS Analytical Accounts of the
(Issued) Central Bank (Analytical Accounts
of the Exchange Fund)
February 26 Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet
and Currency Board Account
February 26 SDDS Template on International
Reserves and Foreign Currency
Liquidity
Ends/Friday, February 26, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:33
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