Hong Kong's forex reserves drop slightly to $255.8 bln    

      HONG KONG, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- The official foreign currency reserves of Hong Kong amounted to 255.8 billion U.S. dollars at the end of December, compared with 256.3 billion U.S. dollars one month earlier, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said Thursday.

    Including unsettled forward contracts, the foreign currency reserve assets also stood at 255.8 billion U.S. dollars at the end of December, 2009.

    Based on the latest figures, Hong Kong is the world's seventh largest holder of foreign currency reserves.

    The total foreign currency reserves of 255.8 billion dollars represent about ten times the currency in circulation, or 55 percent of Hong Kong dollar M3, the broadest measure of money supply in Hong Kong.

Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis