Hong Kong Exchange Fund's total assets rose to HK$1.467 trillion ($188.16 billion) in April, up HK$8.1 billion from March, Hong Kong Monetary Authority said on Friday.

The Foreign-currency assets fell HK$15.8 billion and Hong Kong dollar assets grew HK$23.9 billion, the authority said.

The decline in foreign-currency assets was due mainly to valuation losses on foreign-currency investments and redemption of Certificates of Indebtedness. These decreases were partly offset by interest and dividend income from foreign-currency assets.

The rise in Hong Kong dollar assets was due mainly to valuation gains on Hong Kong equities held by the Exchange Fund and placements received from fiscal reserves, the authority said.

The Monetary Base stood at HK$326.2 billion down HK$2.5 billion or 0.8 percent from March. The decline was due mainly to a decrease in Certificates of Indebtedness and the market value of Exchange Fund Bills and Notes outstanding, the authority said.

The Backing Assets dropped HK$4.5 billion or 1.2 percent to HK$358.6 billion. The decrease was attributable mainly to the redemption of Certificates of Indebtedness in the Monetary Base and revaluation losses, which were partly offset by interest from investments.

The backing ratio fell to 109.91 percent from 110.44 percent in March, the authority said.