Assets at the Exchange Fund, which is used to back the Hong Kong dollar, totalled HK$3,912.4 billion ($501.01 billion) at the end of August, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said on Friday. The figure was HK$0.2 billion higher than the total at the end of July, with foreign currency assets increasing by HK$35.2 billion while Hong Kong dollar assets down by HK$35.0 billion, the city's de facto central bank said in a statement.
The HKMA said the rise in foreign currency assets was mainly due to the purchase of foreign currencies with Hong Kong dollars and mark-to-market gains on foreign currency portfolios. The decline in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to sale of Hong Kong dollars for foreign currencies and withdrawals of placements by Fiscal Reserves as well as Hong Kong government funds and statutory bodies.