Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (June 28) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$4,083.3 billion as at May 31 2019, HK$162.2 billion lower than that at the end of April 2019. Foreign currency assets decreased by HK$84.2 billion and Hong Kong dollar assets decreased by HK$78.0 billion.
      
     The decline in foreign currency assets was mainly due to a decrease in unsettled purchases of securities and the redemption of Certificates of Indebtedness. The decline in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to a decrease in Exchange Fund Bills and Notes issued but not yet settled and the fall in market value of Hong Kong equities.
      
     The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of May 2019 was HK$1,623.6 billion, decreased by HK$6.3 billion, or 0.4%, from the end of April 2019. The decline was mainly due to a decrease in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness.
      
     The amount of Backing Assets decreased by HK$1.6 billion, or 0.1%, to HK$1,807.0 billion. The decrease was mainly attributable to the redemption of Certificates of Indebtedness, which was partly offset by interest from investments and revaluation gains. The backing ratio increased from 110.95% at the end of April 2019 to 111.29% at the end of May 2019.
 
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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 2019, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows: