Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account
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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (September 30) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$3,239.1 billion as at August 31, 2015, HK$25.5 billion lower than that at the end of July 2015.  Foreign currency assets decreased by HK$6.0 billion and Hong Kong dollar assets decreased by HK$19.5 billion.

     The decline in foreign currency assets was mainly due to valuation losses on overseas equities, which were largely offset by an increase in unsettled purchases of securities.  The decline in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to valuation losses on Hong Kong equities.

     The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of August 2015 was HK$1,423.2 billion, increased by HK$3.4 billion, or 0.2%, from the end of July 2015.  The rise was mainly due to an increase in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness.

     The amount of Backing Assets increased by HK$3.1 billion, or 0.2%, to HK$1,523.9 billion.  The rise was mainly attributable to the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness, which was partly offset by valuation losses.  The backing ratio decreased from 107.12% at the end of July 2015 to 107.08% at the end of August 2015.

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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 September 2015, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:

September 7 (Issued)
SDDS International Reserves
(Hong Kong's Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures)

September 14 (Issued)
SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank
(Analytical Accounts of the Exchange Fund)

September 30
SDDS Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity

September 30
Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account

Ends/Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Issued at HKT 16:34

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