UpdateHong Kong Exchange Fund’s income more than doubles as stock gains surge
In the first three quarters of the year, fund posts an investment profit of HK$86.8 billion. Its total assets worth HK$3.57 trillion by end of September
The Exchange Fund, the reserve designed to defend the Hong Kong currency, has reported an investment gain of HK$42.5 billion in the third quarter, more than double that of the previous three-month period, thanks to a large increase in stock investment income.
The third-quarter investment income, reported on Tuesday, was a turnaround from a loss of HK$63.8 billion in the same period last year, data from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority showed.
For the first three quarters of the year, the fund posted an investment profit of HK$86.8 billion.
The HKMA invests the fund, which is worth HK$3.57 trillion fund and includes the government’s fiscal reserves and other assets, in stocks, bonds and properties. It is used to maintain financial stability, which includes defending the local currency’s peg of 7.80 against the US dollar.
The Exchange Fund’s turnaround in the third quarter was mainly driven by its performance in stock investments as gains from Hong Kong equities reached HK$16.8 billion in the period, a sixfold increase from the second quarter. Proceeds from other equities also rose to HK$18.5 billion.
In the three months to September, Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index jumped 12 per cent, compared with a 21 per cent decline a year earlier.
