Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (26 May 2000) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$948.2 billion as at 30 April 2000.

The figure is included in the Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet, which is released on a monthly basis together with the Currency Board Account.

At the end of April 2000, the total assets of the Exchange Fund, at HK$948.2 billion, were HK$36.8 billion lower than at the end of March. Both foreign currency assets and Hong Kong dollar assets decreased, by HK$3.9 billion and HK$32.9 billion respectively.

The decrease in foreign currency assets was mainly due to revaluation effects on foreign currency investments. The decrease in Hong Kong dollar assets was due largely to the decrease in the market value of Hong Kong equities held by the Exchange Fund.

Figures in the Currency Board Account show that the Monetary Base at the end of April was HK$209 billion, an increase of HK$0.8 billion, or 0.4%, from the end of March 2000. The increase was mainly attributable to increase in Certificates of Indebtedness of HK$0.7 billion.

The backing assets increased by HK$1.5 billion, or 0.7%, from HK$233.1 billion to HK$234.6 billion. The rise was mainly driven by the corresponding increase in Certificates of Indebtedness together with net income and revaluation gains of HK$1.1 billion, which was partly offset by a decrease of HK$0.3 billion in the Aggregate Balance of the banking system. Reflecting this, the backing ratio increased from 112% at the end of March to 112.3% at the end of April.

Attachment

Annex 1 : Abridged Balance Sheet of the Exchange Fund

Annex 2 : Currency Board Account

Hong Kong Monetary Authority

26 May 2000