HK's exchange fund decreases $3.8 bln

The exchange fund's foreign assets in Hong Kong decreased by 29.7 billion HK dollars (about 3.8 billion U.S. dollars) to 2.48 trillion HK dollars in July, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said Wednesday.

The Monetary Base, comprising Certificates of Indebtedness, government issued currency notes and coins in circulation, the Aggregate Balance and Exchange Fund Bills and Notes issued, amounted to 1.23 trillion HK dollars.

Claims on the private sector in Hong Kong amounted to 201.1 billion HK dollars, while foreign liabilities, representing fees payable to the exchange fund's external managers, amounted to 600 million HK dollars. ( 1 U.S. dollar equals 7.76 HK dollars)