The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (22
December) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to
HK$994.9 billion as at 30 November 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 November 2000, the total assets of the Exchange
Fund, at HK$994.9 billion, were HK$9.6 billion higher than at the
end of October. Foreign currency assets increased by HK$14.5
billion while Hong Kong dollar assets decreased by HK$4.9
billion.
The increase in foreign currency assets reflected mainly income
and gains on these assets as well as purchase of foreign currencies
with Hong Kong dollars.
The decrease in Hong Kong dollar assets was due mainly to the
sale of Hong Kong dollars for foreign currencies and a decrease in
the market value of Hong Kong equities held by the Exchange Fund,
which were partly offset by an increase in placements by other
government funds.
Figures in the Currency Board Account show that the monetary
base at the end of November was HK$208.7 billion, an increase of
HK$0.6 billion, or 0.3%, from the end of October 2000. The increase
was mainly due to an increase in issuance of Exchange Fund Bills
and Notes.
The backing assets increased by HK$1.5 billion, or 0.7%, from
HK$232.7 billion to HK$234.2 billion. The increase was mainly due
to income from investment and revaluation gains of HK$1.6 billion.
Reflecting this, the backing ratio increased from 111.8% at the end
of October to 112.2% at the end of November.
Attachment
Annex 1 : Abridged Balance Sheet of the Exchange Fund
Annex 2 : Currency Board Account
For further enquiries, please contact:
Caitlin Wong, Manager (Press), at 2878 1687 or
Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480
Hong Kong Monetary Authority
22 December 2000
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 December, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are
as follows:
7 December
(Issued) |
SDDS International Reserves (Hong Kong's Latest
Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures) |
14 December
(Issued) |
SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank
(Exchange Fund Balance Sheet Data) |
| 22 December |
Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency
Board Account |
| 29 December |
SDDS Template on International Reserves and
Foreign Currency Liquidity |
