The Exchange Fund's total assets rose 21.2 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 2.74 billion U.S. dollars) in April, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said Friday.

That means the Exchange Fund's total assets were 1.111 trillion Hong Kong dollars (about 143.35 billion U.S. dollars) in April.

Both foreign currency assets and Hong Kong dollar assets were up by 10.7 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 1.38 billion U.S. dollars) and 10.5 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 1.35 billion U. S. dollars).

The rise in foreign currency assets was due mainly to valuation gains and investment income, while the increase in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly caused by placements received from fiscal reserves and the valuation of Hong Kong equities held by the Exchange Fund, which were partly offset by a fall in bank borrowings.

The Currency Board Account shows the monetary base at the end of April was 288.7 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 37.25 billion U.S. dollars), up 0.8 percent, on the end of March. The rise was due mainly to an increase in Certificates of Indebtedness.

Backing assets rose by 2.3 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 296. 78 million U.S. dollars), or 0.7 percent, to 322.1 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 41.56 billion U.S. dollars). The rise was attributable mainly to the issuance of certificates of indebtedness in the monetary base together with interest from investments, which were partly offset by valuation losses.

At the end of April, the backing ratio stood at 111.55 percent, compared with 111.65 percent at the end of March.

Source: Xinhua