Hong Kong Exchange Fund assets climb to $4.26 trillion

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said on Friday that Hong Kong's Exchange Fund, which is used to back the Hong Kong dollar, rose by HK$134.2 billion in January, while the government reported a fiscal surplus of HK$87.9 billion for the ten months ended January.

The total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$4.26 trillion in January, among which Hong Kong dollar assets rose by HK$27.2 billion while foreign currency assets increased by HK$107 billion.

This came as the Hong Kong government said expenditure for the period April to January amounted to HK$627.3 billion while generating revenue of HK$614.9 billion.

The figure includes the proceeds of HK$142.3 billion received from the issuance of government bonds and the repayment of HK$42 billion principal on government bonds

The fiscal reserves stood at HK$742.2 billion by the end of January.

In a separate statement, the HKMA said Hong Kong dollar deposits in January grew by 1.3 percent, and foreign currency deposits fell 1.1 percent, mainly reflecting fund flows of corporates.

Meanwhile, yuan deposits in Hong Kong increased by 3.5 percent in May to 993.9 billion yuan (HK$1.13 trillion), it added.