The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (7 July) that the official foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong amounted to US$97.1 billion at the end of June 2000 (end-May: US$95.2 billion) (Table 1).
Including unsettled forward contracts, the foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong at the end of June 2000 also stood at US$97.1 billion (end-May: US$95.4 billion).
In terms of foreign currency reserves ranking, Hong Kong is the world's fourth largest holder of foreign currency reserves after Japan, Mainland China and Taiwan (Table 2).
The total foreign currency reserve assets of US$97.1 billion represent over seven times the currency in circulation or about 40% of Hong Kong dollar M3, one of the highest ratios in the world.
At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund's data are issued each month. Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund's Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA's policy of maintaining a high level of transparency. For the month of July, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
| 7 July |
SDDS International Reserves (Hong Kong's Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures) |
| 14 July |
SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank (Exchange Fund Balance Sheet Data) |
| 31 July |
Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account |
| 31 July |
SDDS Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity |
For further enquiries, please contact:
Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480 or
Caitlin Wong, Manager (Press), at 2878 1687
Hong Kong Monetary Authority
7 July 2000
Table 1
Foreign Currency Reserve Assets of Hong Kong
(US$ billion)
Excluding Including
Unsettled Unsettled Unsettled
FX Contracts FX Contracts FX Contracts
Dec 95 55.4 1.8 57.2
Dec 96 63.8 5.7 69.6
Dec 97 92.8 0.4 93.2
Dec 98 89.6 - 89.6
Jan 99 90.1 - 90.1
Feb 99 89.8 - 89.8
Mar 99 89.5 - 89.5
Apr 99 89.5 - 89.5
May 99 88.9 - 88.9
Jun 99 88.6 - 88.6
Jul 99 89.1 - 89.1
Aug 99 89.2 0.1 89.3
Sep 99 90.4 - 90.4
Oct 99 90.4 - 90.4
Nov 99 92.1 0.5 92.6
Dec 99 96.3 - 96.3
Jan 00 94.3 (0.1) 94.2
Feb 00 93.1 - 93.1
Mar 00 93.8 0.1 93.9
Apr 00 93.9 0.3 94.2
May 00 95.2 0.2 95.4
Jun 00 97.1 - 97.1
Figures for the end of 1995 and 1996 do not include Land Fund figures. The Land Fund was established on 1 July 1997 and its foreign currency reserve assets were included thereafter in the above compilation. The assets of the Land Fund were merged into the Exchange Fund in November 1998.
Table 2
Foreign Currency Reserves Ranking
US$ billion As at end of
(1) Japan 344.8 June 2000
(2) China 156.8 March 2000
(3) Taiwan 113.8 June 2000
(4) Hong Kong 97.1 June 2000
(5) Korea 90.2 June 2000
(6) Germany 89.3 May 2000
(7) Singapore 76.1 May 2000
(8) France 68.6 May 2000
(9) US 68.0 June 2000
(10) Italy 45.7 May 2000
Sources: HKMA, Reuters, Deutsche Bundesbank, Monetary Authority of Singapore, U.S. Department of Treasury, Bank of Italy.
