Hong Kong Finance Management Bureau declared Friday that by the end of March
2000, the total capital of Hong Kong's foreign currency had reached HK$ 98.54 billion,
registering a slight rise over the HK$ 98.498 billion in late February, of which, foreign
currency capital increased by HK$ 12.7 billion while HK currency capital decreased by HK$
12.64 billion. The increase of foreign currency assets partially results from the
influence of re-evaluation on foreign investment. The decrease of Hong Kong currency
capital mainly results from a fall in the deposit of other government fund. Due to a rise
in the market value of Hong Kong stocks held by the foreign exchange fund,, the related
rate of fall has all been offset.
Statistics from Hong Kong Currency Issuance Bureau show that the base value of currency
at the end of this March was HK$ 208.2 billion, down HK$ 2.9 billion from that of late
February, with a decrease rate of 1.38 percent. The reduction in the base currency value
is mainly due to a drop of HK$ 3.7 billion in debt certificates. The issuance and market
value of foreign exchange bills and bonds increased respectively by HK$ 0.6 billion and
HK$ 0.2 billion, thus partially offsetting the relative rate of reduction.
Supporting assets of March dropped HK$ 2.2 billion, or 0.93 percent, from HK$ 235.3
billion to HK$ 233.1 billion. The main reason is the cutting down of debt certificates.
However, related decreases have been partially offset by recording a net income of HK$ 1.5
billion and benefits from re-evaluation. As a result, the supporting ratio rose from
111.48 percent in late February to 111.98 percent in late March. |
