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

Hong Kong's Latest Foreign Currency Reserve
Assets at US$240.1 billion

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

November 9, 2009 - The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (November 9) that the official foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong amounted to US$240.1 billion at the end of October 2009 (end-September 2009: US$226.9 billion).

Including unsettled forward contracts, the foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong at the end of October 2009 also stood at US$240.1 billion (end-September 2009: US$229.2 billion).

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

The total foreign currency reserve assets of US$240.1 billion represent over nine times the currency in circulation or about 51% of Hong Kong dollar M3.