Hong Kong’s MPF scores best first half since 2019 as assets hit record of US$157 billion

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The retirement scheme earned HK$12,500 (US$1,600) for each of its 4.75 million members in the first half of 2024 as stock markets rallied

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People cross a footbridge in Central, Hong Kong, during lunch time on June 18, 2024. Photo: Jelly Tse

Enoch Yiu

Published: 9:15am, 4 Jul 2024Updated: 9:21am, 4 Jul 2024

Hong Kong’s Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) reported its best first-half performance in five years as its assets grew to a record high of HK$1.227 trillion (US$157.3 billion) thanks to strong stock rallies.

The MPF’s 379 investment funds earned a combined HK$59.6 billion in the first half, equivalent to HK$12,500 for each member, according to MPF Ratings, an independent research firm.

The compulsory retirement fund, which covers 4.75 million members, generated an average return of 5.2 per cent in the first six months of the year, the highest since it returned 8.4 per cent in 2019.

Total assets grew 7.6 per cent as of the end of June, compared with the end of 2023, surpassing the previous record level of HK$1.221 trillion in June 2021. The sum, which takes into account investment gains and new contributions from members, works out to about HK$258,100 per member.

The high-water mark for assets coincides with the launch of the eMPF Platform to create “two major MPF milestone moments” for the pension regulator, Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA), said Francis Chung, chairman of MPF Ratings.

This “reinforces MPF as a highly robust and highly secure retirement savings and investing system that safeguards member assets operationally”, he said.