HK's Exchange Fund assets down in February

Hong Kong's Exchange Fund's total assets reached 2.2017 trillion HK dollars Feb. 28, down 3.9 billion HK dollars from the end of January, the Monetary Authority said Wednesday.

Foreign currency assets dropped 1.2 billion HK dollars and Hong Kong dollar assets fell 2.7 billion.

The Monetary Authority explained that the fall in foreign currency assets was mainly due to a decrease in unsettled purchases of securities, which was partly offset by an increase in Certificates of Indebtedness.

Meanwhile, the fall in Hong Kong dollar assets was attributed to fiscal drawdowns, which was partly offset by valuation gains on Hong Kong equities.

The monetary base at the end of February was went up 0.6 percent to 1.0283 trillion HK dollars compared to the end of January, partly boosted by an increase in Certificates of Indebtedness reflecting the seasonal demand for banknotes around the Lunar New Year.

The city's Financial Services and Treasury Bureau also announced Wednesday that the HKSAR government recorded a surplus of 47 billion HK dollars for the 11 months ending Feb. 28, which brings its fiscal reserves to 541.4 billion HK dollars.

Source: Xinhua