Monthly Disclosure of Exchange Fund Balance Sheet Data

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published today (15 March 1999) data on the balance sheet of the Exchange Fund at end-February 1999, in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standards (SDDS).

The balance sheet data (referred to as the Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank under SDDS) at 28 February 1999 are as follows:

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

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
15 March 1999

1. Monetary Base 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. Claims on the Hong Kong SAR Government refer to any lending to the Government. This item is not applicable to Hong Kong.

3. Claims on the Private Sector in Hong Kong include bank deposits and investments in debt securities issued by public sector entities in Hong Kong held by the Exchange Fund.

4. Foreign Assets represent the external assets of the Exchange Fund and exclude foreign currency deposits placed with banks in Hong Kong.

5. Foreign Liabilities include margin payable on securities transactions and fees payable to the Exchange Fund's external managers.