Exchange Fund Balance Sheet Data

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) today (13 August) released key data on the balance sheet of the Exchange Fund at end-July 1999, reporting a HK$ 9.5 billion increase in the foreign assets of the Exchange Fund during the month.

Foreign assets, representing the external assets of the Exchange Fund, amounted to HK$654.9 billion. "The increase reflects mainly the valuation effect of foreign currency investments," said a HKMA spokesperson.

The Monetary Base, comprising Certificates of Indebtedness and coins issued, the Aggregate Balance of the banking system and Exchange Fund Bills and Notes issued, amounted to HK$196.0 billion.

Claims on the private sector in Hong Kong amounted to HK$48.4 billion at end-July 1999. The decrease from the previous month was partly due to shifts from foreign currency deposits placed with banks in Hong Kong into fixed income securities issued by overseas entities.

The balance sheet data of the Exchange Fund are released on a monthly basis in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standards (SDDS) and are referred to as the Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank under SDDS (Annex 1).

Hong Kong Monetary Authority

13 August 1999