Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (29 December) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$3,972.4 billion as at 30 November 2023, HK$19.3 billion lower than that at the end of October 2023. Hong Kong dollar assets decreased by HK$68.8 billion while foreign currency assets increased by HK$49.5 billion.

The decline in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to a decrease in Exchange Fund Bills and Notes issued but not yet settled at month end. The rise in foreign currency assets was mainly due to mark-to-market revaluation of investments.

The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of November 2023 was HK$1,878.6 billion, increased by HK$3.4 billion, or 0.2%, from the end of October 2023. The increase was mainly due to amortisation of discount on Exchange Fund Bills and Notes, which was partly offset by the decrease in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness.

The amount of Backing Assets increased by HK$12.8 billion, or 0.6%, to HK$2,070.4 billion at the end of November 2023. The increase was mainly attributable to interest from investments and mark-to-market revaluation of investments, which was partly offset by the redemption of Certificates of Indebtedness. The Backing Ratio increased from 109.73% at the end of October 2023 to 110.21% at the end of November 2023.

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

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
29 December 2023

*****************************************************************

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 December 2023, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows: