HONG KONG, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong's foreign currency reserve assets stood at 159.9 billion U.S. dollars at the end of April, down 0.9 billion U.S. dollars from the previous month, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said Wednesday.

    The total foreign currency reserves represent over 7 times the currency in circulation in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), or about 39 percent of Hong Kong dollar M3, the Monetary Authority said in a statement.

    Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, is often taken as a separate economy in statistics. It is the world's ninth largest holder of foreign currency reserves at the end of April.