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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 7) that the official foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong amounted to US$272.7 billion as at the end of February 2011 (end January 2011: US$273.2 billion) (Table 1). There were no unsettled forward contracts as at end of February and end of January.
Hong Kong is the world's ninth largest holder of foreign currency reserves based on the latest published figures, after Mainland China, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, India, Brazil and Korea (Table 2).
The total foreign currency reserve assets of US$272.7 billion represent about nine times the currency in circulation or 54% of Hong Kong dollar M3.
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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 (Hong Kong's
Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets
Figures)
March 14 SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central
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/Monday, March 7, 2011
Issued at HKT 16:30
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