Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (31 August) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$4,216.3 billion as at 31 July 2022, HK$5.9 billion higher than that at the end of June 2022. Foreign currency assets increased by HK$19.2 billion while Hong Kong dollar assets decreased by HK$13.3 billion.

The rise in foreign currency assets was mainly due to the mark-to-market revaluation on investments and the increase in the month-end balances of unsettled purchase of securities after offsetting the sale of US dollars under the Currency Board arrangements. 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 July 2022 was HK$1,977.3 billion, decreased by HK$70.9 billion, or 3.5%, from the end of June 2022. The decline was mainly due to the purchase of HK dollars under the Currency Board arrangements.

The amount of Backing Assets decreased by HK$62.2 billion, or 2.8%, to HK$2,193.3 billion. The decrease was mainly attributable to the sale of US dollars under the Currency Board arrangements, which was partly offset by the mark-to-market revaluation on investments. The backing ratio increased from 110.12% at the end of June 2022 to 110.92% at the end of July 2022.

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

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
31 August 2022

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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 August 2022, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows: