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

Hong Kong’s Foreign Currency Reserves At US$181.7 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

February 9, 2009 - Hong Kong’s foreign currency reserve assets stood at US$181.7 billion at the end of January 2009, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), compared to US$182.5 billion at end-December 2008.

Including unsettled forward contracts, the foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong at the end of January 2009 also stood at US$181.7 billion compared to US$184.8 billion at end-December 2008.

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$181.7 billion represent about seven times the currency in circulation or 43% of Hong Kong dollar M3.