The Exchange Fund's total assets stood at $1.14 trillion in September, $14.2 billion higher than in August, the Monetary Authority says.

The month saw foreign currency assets up $12.3 billion and Hong Kong dollar assets up $1.9 billion. The surge in foreign currency assets was due mainly to an increase in Certificates of Indebtedness, the valuation of foreign currency investments, interest and dividend income from foreign currency assets.

The rise in Hong Kong dollar assets was due mainly to an increase in bank borrowings and valuation of Hong Kong equities held by the Exchange Fund. These increases were partly offset by fiscal drawdowns.

The Monetary Base rose $5.4 billion from August, to $293 billion in September. The rise was due mainly to increases in Certificates of Indebtedness and in the market value of Exchange Fund bills and notes outstanding.

Backing assets grew by $7.2 billion to $326.4 billion. The rise was attributable mainly to the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness in the Monetary Base, interest from investments and revaluation gains. Reflecting this, the backing ratio rose to 111.40% from 110.95% in August.