Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (30 July) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$4,566.6 billion as at 30 June 2021, HK$19.3 billion higher than that at the end of May 2021. Foreign currency assets increased by HK$20.5 billion while Hong Kong dollar assets decreased by HK$1.2 billion.

The rise in foreign currency assets was mainly due to an increase in the month-end balances of unsettled purchase of securities and the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness. The decline in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to the mark-to-market revaluation on Hong Kong equities.

The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of June 2021 was HK$2,118.1 billion, increased by HK$7.5 billion, or 0.4%, from the end of May 2021. The rise was mainly due to an increase in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness.

The amount of Backing Assets increased by HK$8.4 billion, or 0.4%, to HK$2,329.7 billion. The increase was mainly attributable to the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness. At the end of June 2021, the backing ratio remained unchanged at 109.99%.

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

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
30 July 2021

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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 July 2021, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows: