Financial non-reserve assets hit $38.1b in Q2

External financial abilities and assets also stood at $42.96t.

The overall net outflow of financial non-reserve assets amounted to $38.1b in the Q2, up from the $28.2b recorded in the preceding quarter, the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) said.

This is roughly equivalent to 5.5% to GDP, up from about 4% from the preceding quarter.

The quarterly figure was the result of a net outflow of other investment and a net outflow of portfolio investment, partly offset by a net inflow of direct investment and a net inflow due to the cash settlement of financial derivatives.

Balance of payments (BoP) surplus totalled to $28.3b (as a ratio of 4.1% to GDP) in Q2, as compared to the $33b surplus (as a ratio of 4.6% to GDP) in Q1. Reserve assets correspondingly increased by the same amount $28.3b in Q2.

Hong Kong's external financial assets hit over $42.96t whilst its liabilities stood at $31.76t, which C&SD said is a typical feature of a prominent international financial centre.

After netting out the external financial liabilities from the external financial assets, Hong Kong's net external financial assets reached $11.2t in Q2, higher than the $10.83t recorded in the previous quarter.