Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (Friday) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$2,920.6 billion as at 31 October 2013, HK$14.2 billion lower than that at the end of September 2013.  Foreign currency assets increased by HK$21.1 billion while Hong Kong dollar assets decreased by HK$35.3 billion.

The rise in foreign currency assets was mainly due to valuation gains on foreign currency investments and an increase in unsettled purchases of securities.  The decline in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to decreases in Exchange Fund Bills and Notes issued but not yet settled and in bank borrowings.  These decreases were partly offset by valuation gains on Hong Kong equities and placements received from fiscal reserves.

The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of October 2013 was HK$1,243.9 billion, decreased by HK$1.2 billion, or 0.1%, from the end of September 2013.  The decline was due to a decrease in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness. 
 
The amount of Backing Assets decreased by HK$0.9 billion, or 0.1%, to HK$1,338.9 billion.  The decrease was attributable to the reduction in assets connected with the redemption of Certificates of Indebtedness.  The backing ratio increased from 107.60% at the end of September 2013 to 107.63% at the end of October 2013.

Attachment
Annex 1 : Abridged Balance Sheet of the Exchange Fund
Annex 2 : Currency Board Account

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
29 November 2013

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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 November 2013, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows: