The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (Thursday) that the official foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong amounted to US$118.4 billion at the end of September 2004 (end-August 2004: US$118.5 billion) (Table 1).
Including unsettled forward contracts, the foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong at the end of September 2004 also stood at US$118.4 billion (end-August 2004: US$118.5 billion).
In terms of foreign currency reserves ranking, Hong Kong is now the world's sixth largest holder of foreign currency reserves, after Japan, Mainland China, Taiwan, Korea and India (Table 2).
The total foreign currency reserve assets of US$118.4 billion represent over six times the currency in circulation or about 45% of Hong Kong dollar M3.
Release calendar
The release calendar of foreign currency reserve assets for 2005 is announced below:
Reference Month Release Date January 2005 7 February 2005 February 2005 7 March 2005 March 2005 7 April 2005 April 2005 9 May 2005 May 2005 7 June 2005 June 2005 7 July 2005 July 2005 8 August 2005 August 2005 7 September 2005 September 2005 7 October 2005 October 2005 7 November 2005 November 2005 7 December 2005 December 2005 9 January 2006
For further enquiries, please contact:
Jasmin Fung, Manager (Press), at 2878 8246 or
Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480
Hong Kong Monetary Authority
7 October 2004
At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund's data are issued by the HKMA each month. Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund's Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA's policy of maintaining a high level of transparency. For the month of October 2004, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
7 October | SDDS International Reserves (Hong Kong's Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures) |
14 October | SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank (Exchange Fund Balance Sheet Data) |
29 October | Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account |
29 October | SDDS Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity |
Foreign Currency Reserve Assets of Hong Kong
(US$ billion)
Excluding Unsettled FX Contracts |
Unsettled FX Contracts |
Including Unsettled FX Contracts
|
|
Dec 95 | 55.4 | 1.8 | 57.2 |
Dec 96 | 63.8 | 5.7 | 69.6 |
Dec 97 | 92.8 | 0.4 | 93.2 |
Dec 98 | 89.6 | - | 89.6 |
Dec 99 | 96.3 | - | 96.3 |
Dec 00 | 107.5 | - | 107.5 |
Dec 01 | 111.2 | - | 111.2 |
Dec 02 | 111.9 | - | 111.9 |
Jan 03 | 115.6 | - | 115.6 |
Feb 03 | 113.7 | - | 113.7 |
Mar 03 | 113.6 | - | 113.6 |
Apr 03 | 114.2 | - | 114.2 |
May 03 | 116.1 | - | 116.1 |
Jun 03 | 114.4 | (0.2) | 114.2 |
Jul 03 | 112.6 | - | 112.6 |
Aug 03 | 111.8 | (0.4) | 111.4 |
Sep 03 | 112.1 | - | 112.1 |
Oct 03 | 112.4 | - | 112.4 |
Nov 03 | 114.1 | - | 114.1 |
Dec 03 | 118.4 | 0.5 | 118.9 |
Jan 04 | 123.6 | - | 123.6 |
Feb 04 | 123.5 | - | 123.5 |
Mar 04 | 123.8 | - | 123.8 |
Apr 04 | 122.1 | - | 122.1 |
May 04 | 120.1 | - | 120.1 |
Jun 04 | 120.8 | - | 120.8 |
Ju1 04 | 118.3 | - | 118.3 |
Aug 04 | 118.5 | - | 118.5 |
Sep 04* | 118.4 | - | 118.4 |
Figures for the end of 1995 and 1996 do not include Land Fund figures. The Land Fund was established on 1 July 1997 and its foreign currency reserve assets were included thereafter in the above compilation. The assets of the Land Fund were merged into the Exchange Fund in November 1998.
* The latest monthly figures are preliminary and subject to change.
Official Reserves Ranking
US$ billion | At end of | ||
(1) |
Japan |
831.0 | Sep 2004 |
(2) |
Mainland China |
470.6 | Jun 2004 |
(3) |
Taiwan |
233.0 | Sep 2004 |
(4) |
Korea |
174.4 | Sep 2004 |
(5) |
India |
118.8 | Sep 2004 |
(6) |
Hong Kong |
118.4 | Sep 2004 |
(7) |
Singapore |
101.3 | Aug 2004 |
(8) |
Russia |
95.1 | Sep 2004 |
(9) |
Germany |
93.5 | Aug 2004 |
(10) |
US |
82.3 | Sep 2004 |
Sources : HKMA, Reuters, websites of International Monetary Fund, People's Bank of China