Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (30 September) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$4,335.4 billion as at 31 August 2026, HK$68.3 billion lower than that at the end of July 2026.  Foreign currency assets decreased by HK$68.0 billion and Hong Kong dollar assets decreased by HK$0.3 billion.

The decline in foreign currency assets was mainly due to withdrawals of Fiscal Reserves placements.  The decline in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to mark-to-market revaluation of Hong Kong equities.

The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of August 2026 was HK$2,080.2 billion, grew by HK$0.1 billion, or 0.01% from the end of July 2026.  The growth was mainly due to the amortisation of discount on Exchange Fund Bills and Notes issued, which was partly offset by the decrease in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness.

The amount of Backing Assets increased by HK$3.2 billion, or 0.14%, to HK$2,329.9 billion at the end of August 2026.  The increase was mainly attributable to interest income from investments, which was partly offset by redemption of Certificates of Indebtedness and mark-to-market revaluation of investments.  The Backing Ratio increased from 111.86% at the end of July 2026 to 112.00% at the end of August 2026.

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

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
30 September 2026

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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 September 2026, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows: