The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced that the official foreign currency assets of Hong Kong, including those held in the Land Fund, were US$98.1 billion at the end of January 1998, an increase of US$5.3 billion over that at the end of December 1997 (US$92.8 billion). In terms of foreign currency reserves ranking, Hong Kong remains the third largest in the world, after Japan and Mainland China (Table 1).
The increase in the foreign currency assets was primarily due to seasonal factors: in January, issuance of new banknotes surged to meet demand during the Lunar New Year. Under the currency board arrangement, note-issuing banks are required to credit the Exchange Fund with US dollar to back any currency issue.
The increase in the assets in the Exchange Fund was also due to the additional placements by the Government Treasury in January as a result of tax collected during the month.
As at the end of January, the foreign currency assets held in the Exchange Fund were US$80.3 billion (end-December: US$75.3 billion) and in the Land Fund were US$17.8 billion (end-December: US$17.8 billion). The total foreign currency assets of US$98.1 billion represent about 8 times the currency in circulation or about 45% of Hong Kong dollar M3; one of the highest in the world.
Hong Kong Monetary Authority
26 February 1998
TABLE 1
| Foreign Exchange Reserves Ranking |
| |
|
US$BN |
As at end of |
| (1) |
Japan |
221.5 |
January 1998 |
| (2) |
China |
139.9 |
December 1997 |
| (3) |
Hong Kong |
98.1* |
January 1998 |
| (4) |
Taiwan |
83.5 |
December 1997 |
| (5) |
Germany |
82.1 |
December 1997 |
| (6) |
Singapore |
71.7 |
December 1997 |
| (7) |
US |
71.3 |
December 1997 |
| (8) |
Spain |
69.1 |
December 1997 |
| (9) |
Italy |
58.9 |
December 1997 |
| (10) |
Brazil |
50.7 |
November 1997 |
Source: HKMA, IMF, Reuters
* Detailed breakdown at Tables 2 and 3
TABLE 2
| Exchange Fund -- Foreign Currency Reserves (US$ billion) |
| . |
Excluding forward transactions |
Net forward transactions |
Including forward transactions |
End-
January 1997 |
65.9 |
5.2 |
71.1 |
End-
Februrary 1997 |
63.8 |
4.3 |
68.1 |
End-
March 1997 |
63.4 |
4.3 |
67.7 |
End-
April 1997 |
63.6 |
4.0 |
67.6 |
End-
May 1997 |
66.6 |
1.8 |
68.4 |
End-
June 1997 |
67.6 |
2.1 |
69.7 |
End-
July 1997 |
66.1 |
2.5 |
68.6 |
End-
August 1997 |
69.5 |
0.1 |
69.6 |
End-
September 1997 |
71.4 |
0.3 |
71.7 |
End-
October 1997 |
74.0 |
0.4 |
74.4 |
End-
November 1997 |
79.1 |
0.4 |
79.5 |
End-
December 1997 |
75.3 |
0.3 |
75.6 |
End-
January 1998 |
80.3 |
- |
80.3 |
The figures above exclude the principal and interest amounts of loan to Bank of Thailand. The first drawdown was taken place in Oct 97.
TABLE 3
| Land Fund -- Foreign Currency Reserves (US$ billion) |
| . |
Excluding forward transactions |
Net forward transactions |
Including forward transactions |
End-
July 1997 |
15.6 |
0.1 |
15.7 |
End-
August 1997 |
15.8 |
0.1 |
15.9 |
End-
September 1997 |
16.7 |
0.4 |
17.1 |
End-
October 1997 |
17.4 |
(0.1) |
17.3 |
End-
November 1997 |
17.4 |
0 |
|
