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

Hong Kong’s Foreign Currency Reserves at US$258.2 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

March 8, 2010 - Hong Kong’s foreign currency reserve assets amounted to US$258.2 billion at the end of February 2010, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), compared with US$257.1 billion at end-January 2010.

Including unsettled forward contracts, the foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong at the end of February 2010 also stood at US$258.2 billion, compared with US$257.1 billion at end-January 2010.

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$258.2 billion represent about nine times the currency in circulation or 56% of Hong Kong dollar M3.