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	news.gov.hk
	From Hong Kong's Information Services Department

February 7, 2005

Finance

Foreign currency reserves hit US$124.7b

Hong Kong's foreign currency reserve assets amounted to US$124.7 billion at the end of January, up US$1.1 billion on the previous month, the Monetary Authority says.

Including unsettled forward contracts, foreign currency reserve assets rose US$600 million from December to $124.2 billion.

The amount represents about six times the currency in circulation, or 44% of Hong Kong dollar M3.

Hong Kong ranks as the world's seventh largest holder of foreign currency reserves after Japan, the Mainland, Taiwan, South Korea, India and Russia.