Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (Tuesday) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$4,081.9 billion as at 31 May 2020, HK$14.1 billion lower than that at the end of April 2020. Hong Kong dollar assets decreased by HK$8.3 billion and foreign currency assets decreased by HK$5.8 billion.

The decline in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to the mark-to-market revaluation on Hong Kong equities. The decline in foreign currency assets was mainly due to the reduction in Fiscal Reserves placements, which was partly offset by an increase in unsettled purchase of securities and the mark-to-market revaluation on foreign currency investments.

The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of May 2020 was HK$1,709.5 billion, increased by HK$0.9 billion, or 0.1%, from the end of April 2020. The rise was mainly due to an increase in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness.

The amount of Backing Assets increased by HK$2.0 billion, or 0.1%, to HK$1,914.2 billion. The increase was mainly attributable to the net income from investments and the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness. The backing ratio increased from 111.91% at the end of April 2020 to 111.97% at the end of May 2020.

Annex 1: Abridged Balance Sheet of the Exchange Fund
Annex 2: Currency Board Account

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
30 June 2020

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At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund’s data are issued by the HKMA 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 June 2020, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows: