Monthly Disclosure of Exchange Fund Balance Sheet Data

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority(HKMA) published today data on the balance sheet of the Exchange Fund, in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Dissemination Standards (SDDS), to which HK has subscribed since January 1999.

This disclosure initiative aims to provide the public with more relevant, frequent and timely data concerning the balance sheet of the Exchange Fund. Such data would be published on a monthly basis within two weeks of the end of the reference month.

The balance sheet data (referred to as the Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank under SDDS)as of 31 January 1999 are as follows (see Annex):

1. The Monetary Base amounted to HK$196,520 million. This comprises Certificates of Indebtedness (for backing the currency notes) and coins issued, the aggregate balance of the banking system and Exchange Fund Bills and Notes issued.

2. The Exchange Fund's claims on the private sector in Hong Kong (mostly bank deposits) amounted to HK$80,078 million.

3. Foreign assets, which represent the external assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$655,955 million. This is slightly smaller than the foreign currency assets or the international reserves figure of Hong Kong, which stood at US$90.1 billion (HK$697.9 billion) as announced earlier, as the latter includes foreign currency deposits placed with banks in Hong Kong.

4. Foreign liabilities of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$310 million. This includes margin payable on securities transactions and fees payable to Exchange Fund's external managers.

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
15 February 1999

Annex

Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank
(in million of Hong Kong dollar)

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
15 February 1999