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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (March 31) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$2,433.9 billion as at February 28, 2011.
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 February 2011 the total assets of the Exchange Fund, at HK$2,433.9 billion, were HK$71.1 billion lower than at the end of January 2011. Foreign currency assets decreased by HK$49.2 billion and Hong Kong dollar assets decreased by HK$21.9 billion.
The decline in foreign currency assets was mainly due to decreases in unsettled purchases of securities and Certificates of Indebtedness, which were partly offset by purchases of foreign currencies with Hong Kong dollars and valuation gains on foreign currency investments. The decline in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to sales of Hong Kong dollars for foreign currencies and fiscal drawdowns, which were partly offset by an increase in the balance of the banking system.
The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of February 2011 was HK$1,051.2 billion, a decrease of HK$13.0 billion, or 1.22%, from the end of January 2011. The decline was mainly due to a decrease in Certificates of Indebtedness.
The Backing Assets decreased by HK$13.9 billion, or 1.21%, to HK$1,134.9 billion. The decrease was mainly attributable to the redemption of Certificates of Indebtedness and revaluation losses which were offset by interest from investment. At the end of February 2011, the backing ratio stood at 107.96%, compared with 107.95% at the end of January 2011.
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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 March 2011, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
March 7 SDDS International Reserves
(Issued) (Hong Kong's Latest Foreign Currency
Reserve Assets Figures)
March 14 SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central
(Issued) Bank (Analytical Accounts of the
Exchange Fund)
March 31 Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and
Currency Board Account
March 31 SDDS Template on International Reserves
and Foreign Currency Liquidity
Ends/Thursday, March 31, 2011
Issued at HKT 18:12
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