The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

Hong Kong’s Foreign Currency Reserves at US$186.2 Billion

For more information, please contact:
Melissa Ng /David Hsieh at 212-752-3320
Daniel McAtee at 202-238-6360
Wing Yan Tong at 415-835-9315

April 7, 2009 - Hong Kong’s foreign currency reserve assets stood at US$186.2 billion at the end of March 2009, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, compared to US$177.1 billion at end-February.

Including unsettled forward contracts, the foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong at the end of March 2009 also stood at US$186.2 billion, compared to US$177.1 billion at end-February 2009.

Hong Kong is the world’s eighth largest holder of foreign currency reserves based on the latest published figures, after Mainland China, Japan, Russia, Taiwan, India, Korea and Brazil.

The total foreign currency reserve assets of US$186.2 billion represent about eight times the currency in circulation or 45% of Hong Kong dollar M3.