The Exchange Fund's total assets rose $2 billion to $1.058 trillion in April, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced today.

Foreign currency assets fell by $300 million while Hong Kong dollar assets rose by $2.3 billion.

The decrease in foreign currency assets was mainly due to a decrease in Certificates of Indebtedness which was partly offset by valuation gains on foreign currency investments.

The increase in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to valuation gains in the market value of Hong Kong equities held by the Exchange Fund and placements received from fiscal reserves, which were partly offset by a decrease in bank borrowings.

The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of April was $286.6 billion, an increase of $100 million, or 0.04%, from the end of March.

The rise was mainly due to an increase in the market value of Exchange Fund Bills and Notes outstanding which was partly offset by a decrease in Certificates of Indebtedness. 

Backing Assets slip

The Backing Assets decreased by $400 million, or 0.12%, to $315.6 billion.

The decrease was mainly attributable to the decrease in Certificates of Indebtedness in the Monetary Base which was partly offset by income from investments.

At the end of April, the backing ratio stood at 110.14%, compared with 110.3% at the end of March.