Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account
***************************************************************
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (December 29) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$3,979.6 billion as at November 30, 2017, HK$25.8 billion lower than that at the end of October 2017. Foreign currency assets increased by HK$6.7 billion while Hong Kong dollar assets decreased by HK$32.5 billion.
The rise in foreign currency assets was mainly due to the purchase of foreign currencies with Hong Kong dollars and income from foreign currency portfolios, which were partly offset by a decrease in unsettled purchases of securities. The decline in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to the decrease in Exchange Fund Bills and Notes issued but not yet settled and sale of Hong Kong dollars for foreign currencies, which were partly offset by additional placements from Fiscal Reserves.
The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of November 2017 was HK$1,676.3 billion, increased by HK$2.2 billion, or 0.1%, from the end of October 2017. The rise was mainly due to the increase in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness.
The amount of Backing Assets increased by HK$3.4 billion, or 0.2%, to HK$1,810.5 billion. The increase was mainly attributable to the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness and interest from investments. The backing ratio increased from 107.95% at the end of October 2017 to 108.01% at the end of November 2017.
*****************************************************************
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 December 2017, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
| December 7 (Issued) |
SDDS International Reserves (Hong Kong's Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures) |
| December 14 (Issued) |
SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank (Analytical Accounts of the Exchange Fund) |
| December 29 |
SDDS Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity |
| December 29 |
Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account |
Ends/Friday, December 29, 2017
Issued at HKT 16:30
Issued at HKT 16:30
NNNN