The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority: The 61st issue of "HA Risk Alert" was published today (April 30) by the Hospital Authority (HA) as a risk management and communication initiative to furt… read more
The Government announced today (April 30) its provisional financial results for the year ended March 31, 2021. Expenditure for the year ended March 31, 2021, amounted to HK$816 billion and reve… read more
The fourth report on the progress of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in implementing the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women is now available for public inspection.
“The HKSAR report forms part of the ninth report submitted by the People’s Republic of China to the UN under the Convention,” a government spokesman said today (April 30).
“The report sets out the progress in the implementation of the Convention in the HKSAR since the submission of the previous report in 2012. It also responds to the concluding comments of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women after its hearing on the previous report in 2014.
“The report has taken account of the comments and views received from Legislative Council Members and members of the community during the public consultation on the proposed outline of the report from March to May 2018,” he said.
In line with the established practice, the report will be examined by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in a future hearing, the date of which is to be fixed.
The full text of the report, in Chinese and English, is available on the Labour and Welfare Bureau’s dedicated website on the Convention (www.lwb.gov.hk/CEDAW). read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (April 30) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$4,535.7 billion as at March 31, 2021, HK$46.1 billion lower than that at the end of February 2021. Foreign currency assets decreased by HK$40.6 billion and Hong Kong dollar assets decreased by HK$5.5 billion.
The decline in foreign currency assets was mainly due to a decrease in the month-end balances of unsettled purchase of securities and reduction in Fiscal Reserves placements. The decline in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to the mark-to-market valuation of Hong Kong equities.
The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of March 2021 was HK$2,107.9 billion, decreased by HK$9.1 billion, or 0.4 per cent, from the end of February 2021. The decline was mainly due to a decrease in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness.
The amount of Backing Assets decreased by HK$4.6 billion, or 0.2 per cent, to HK$2,320.0 billion. The decrease was mainly attributable to the redemption of Certificates of Indebtedness, which was partly offset by the translation effect of foreign currency investments into Hong Kong dollar. The backing ratio increased from 109.80 per cent at the end of February 2021 to 110.06 per cent at the end of March 2021.
****************************************************************
At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund’s data are issued by the HKMA each month. Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund’s Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA’s policy of maintaining a high level of transparency. For the month of April 2021, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
| April 9 (Issued) |
SDDS International Reserves (Hong Kong’s Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures) |
| April 14 (Issued) |
SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank (Analytical Accounts of the Exchange Fund) |
| April 30 |
SDDS Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity |
| April 30 |
Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account |
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released today (April 30) the analytical data on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s foreign currency reserves and foreign currency liquidity as at the end of March 2021 (Annex). These data are published monthly in the Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity in accordance with the International Monetary Fund’s Special Data Dissemination Standard.
****************************************************************
At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund’s data are issued by the HKMA each month. Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund’s Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA’s policy of maintaining a high level of transparency. For the month of April 2021, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
| April 9 (Issued) |
SDDS International Reserves (Hong Kong’s Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures) |
| April 14 (Issued) |
SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank (Analytical Accounts of the Exchange Fund) |
| April 30 | SDDS Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity |
| April 30 | Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account |