From its role in Hong Kong’s transition from British colony to China’s special administrative region, the HKMA is now carving out a place as a leader in fintech, financial regulations and green finance.
Hong Kong’s Exchange Fund investment income shrank 24.56% year-on-year to HK$197.8 billion (US$25.3 billion) in 2020 from declines in investments in bonds and foreign equities, underscoring the hit from global market turmoil in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The income translates into an annual investment return of 4.4%, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the city’s de facto central bank, says in a statement on January 27.
The Exchange Fund is Hong Kong’s foreign reserves for defending the value of the local dollar, which is pegged at HK$7.8 per US dollar but allowed to trade between HK$7.75 and HK$7.85.
The fund’s biggest income gain last year was from bonds, which was down to HK$92.5 billion from HK$114.5 billion in 2019, followed by foreign equity investments, down to HK$69 billion from HK$100.7 billion previously.