Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, November 29, 2003
HK's exchange fund assets reach 977 billion in Oct.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said Friday Hong Kong's exchange fund assets had reached 976.7 billion HK dollars (125.2 billion US dollars) by Oct. 31, a dropof 3.2 billion HK dollars from the figure in September.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said Friday Hong Kong's exchange fund assets had reached 976.7 billion HK dollars (125.2 billion US dollars) by Oct. 31, a dropof 3.2 billion HK dollars from the figure in September.
The foreign currency assets fell 6.8 billion HK dollars (872 million US dollars) while HK dollar assets rose 3.6 billion (462 million US dollars).
The fall in foreign currency assets was mainly due to decreasesin repurchase agreements outstanding and securities purchased but settled in the following month which were partly offset by purchase of foreign currencies from HK dollars.
The increase in HK dollar assets was mainly due to an increase in bank borrowings and valuation gains in the market value of HongKong equities held by the Exchange Fund.
These increases were partly offset by the sale of HK dollars for foreign currencies and fiscal drawdowns.
Figures in the Currency Board Account show the monetary base atthe end of October was 260.3 billion HK dollars (33.4 billion US dollars), up 2.4 billion HK dollars, or 0.9 percent, on September.
The increase was mainly due to a rise in the Aggregate Balance which was partly offset by a fall in Certificates of Indebtedness.