The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (April 29) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$4,094.6 billion as at March 31, 2020, HK$83.2 billion lower than that at the end of February 2020.  Foreign currency assets decreased by HK$114.5 billion while Hong Kong dollar assets increased by HK$31.3 billion.
      
     The decline in foreign currency assets was mainly due to the mark-to-market revaluation on foreign currency investments and a decrease in unsettled purchases of securities.  The rise in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to an increase in Exchange Fund Bills and Notes issued but not yet settled, which was partly offset by withdrawals of placements by Fiscal Reserves and a decrease in market value of Hong Kong equities.
      
     The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of March 2020 was HK$1,679.9 billion, decreased by HK$6.7 billion, or 0.4 per cent, from the end of February 2020.  The decline was mainly due to a decrease in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness.
      
     The amount of Backing Assets decreased by HK$5.0 billion, or 0.3 per cent, to HK$1,881.4 billion.  The decrease was mainly attributable to the redemption of Certificates of Indebtedness which was partly offset by the interest from investments.  The backing ratio increased from 111.85 per cent at the end of February 2020 to 111.99 per cent at the end of March 2020.
  
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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 April 2020, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
 

April 7 (Issued)	SDDS International Reserves (Hong Kong’s Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures)
April 15  (Issued)	SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank (Analytical Accounts of the Exchange Fund)
April 29	SDDS Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity
April 29	Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account

 

Ends/Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Issued at HKT 16:30

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