The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (February 28) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$3,776.2 billion as at January 31, 2017, HK$146.2 billion higher than that at the end of December 2016.  Foreign currency assets increased by HK$46.4 billion and Hong Kong dollar assets increased by HK$99.8 billion.
 
     The rise in foreign currency assets was mainly due to the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness and mark-to-market gains on foreign currency portfolios.  The rise in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to additional placements from Fiscal Reserves and an increase in Exchange Fund Bills and Notes issued but not yet settled.
 
     The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of January 2017 was HK$1,669.5 billion, increased by HK$27.7 billion, or 1.7%, from the end of December 2016.  The rise was mainly due to an increase in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness, which reflected the seasonal demand for banknotes around Lunar New Year.
 
     The amount of Backing Assets increased by HK$29.7 billion, or 1.7%, to HK$1,781.6 billion.  The increase was mainly attributable to the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness.  The backing ratio increased from 106.70% at the end of December 2016 to 106.71% at the end of January 2017.

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     At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund's data are issued by the HKMA each month.  Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS).  The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund's Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA's policy of maintaining a high level of transparency.  For the month of February 2017, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
 

February 7 (Issued)	SDDS International Reserves (Hong Kong’s Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures)
February 14  (Issued)	SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank (Analytical Accounts of the Exchange Fund)
February 28	SDDS Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity
February 28	Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account

Ends/Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Issued at HKT 16:30

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