International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity
*****************************************************

    The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released today (April 28) analytical data on the Hong Kong SAR's foreign currency reserves and foreign currency liquidity at the end of March 2006 (Annex).  These data are published monthly in the Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard.

***************************************************************

      At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund's data are issued 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 April 2006, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:

April 7      SDDS International Reserves (Hong Kong's
(Issued)     Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets
             Figures)

April 18     SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central
(Issued)     Bank (Exchange Fund Balance Sheet Data)

April 28     Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and
             Currency Board Account

April 28     SDDS Template on International Reserves
             and Foreign Currency Liquidity

     For further enquiries, please contact:

Ying-ying Cheng, Manager (Press), at 2878 1687 or
Hing-Fung Wong, Resource Co-ordinator, at 2878 1802

Ends/Friday, April 28, 2006
Issued at HKT 16:31

NNNN