HK Exchange Fund assets up 30 bln HK dollars

The total assets of Hong Kong's Exchange Fund surged 30 billion HK dollars (3.8 billion U.S. dollars) to 1.253 trillion HK dollars in April, Hong Kong's Monetary Authority said Thursday.

The month also saw foreign-currency assets rise 15.1 billion HK dollars and Hong Kong dollar assets grow by 14.9 billion HK dollars, said the authority.

The surge in foreign-currency assets was due mainly to valuation gains on foreign-currency investments and interest and dividend income from foreign-currency assets.

The rise in Hong Kong dollar assets was due mainly to valuation gains of Hong Kong equities held by the Exchange Fund, placements received from fiscal reserves and a rise in Exchange Fund Bills and Notes issued but not yet settled.

The Monetary Base fell 900 million HK dollars, or 0.3 percent, to 298.2 billion HK dollars. The fall was due mainly to a decrease in Certificates of Indebtedness.

Backing Assets grew 800 million HK dollars, or 0.2 percent, to 332.6 billion HK dollars. The rise was attributable mainly to interest from investments and revaluation gains, which were partly offset by the redemption of Certificates of Indebtedness in the Monetary Base. Reflecting this, the backing ratio rose to 111.53 percent from 110.93 percent. (One U.S. dollar equals 7.8 HK dollars)

Source: Xinhua