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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (January 31) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$2,492.7 billion as at December 31, 2011.
The figure is included in the Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet, which is released monthly together with the Currency Board Account. The figures in the Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and the Currency Board Account are unaudited. The audit of the Exchange Fund's annual financial statements by the Director of Audit is in progress.
At the end of December 2011 the total assets of the Exchange Fund, at HK$2,492.7 billion, were HK$2.3 billion higher than at the end of November 2011. Foreign currency assets increased by HK$10.4 billion while Hong Kong dollar assets decreased by HK$8.1 billion.
The rise in foreign currency assets was mainly due to an increase in Certificates of Indebtedness and purchases of foreign currencies with Hong Kong dollars. These increases were partly offset by a decrease in unsettled purchases of securities. The decline in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to sales of Hong Kong dollars for foreign currencies.
The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of December 2011 was HK$1,076.0 billion, an increase of HK$15.8 billion, or 1.49%, from the end of November 2011. The rise was mainly due to an increase in Certificates of Indebtedness which reflected the seasonal demand for banknotes around Christmas and New Year.
The Backing Assets increased by HK$16.8 billion, or 1.46%, to HK$1,172.0 billion. The increase was mainly attributable to the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness and interest from investments. At the end of December 2011, the backing ratio stood at 108.92%, compared with 108.95% at the end of November 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 January 2012, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
January 9(Issued)
SDDS International Reserves (Hong Kong's Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures)
January 13(Issued)
SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank (Analytical Accounts of the Exchange Fund)
January 31
Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account
January 31
SDDS Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity
Ends/Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Issued at HKT 16:43
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