The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced Friday that Hong Kong's official foreign currency reserve assets added 600 million U.S. dollars in March to a total of 258.8 billion U.S. dollars.

Including unsettled forward contracts, the foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong at the end of March also stood at 258. 8 billion U.S. dollars.

Hong Kong is the world's seventh largest holder of foreign currency reserves based on the latest published figures, after the Chinese mainland, Japan, Russia, China's Taiwan, India and South Korea.

The news release said the total foreign currency reserve assets represent over nine times the currency in circulation or about 56 percent of Hong Kong dollar M3.