Total MPF assets stand at HK$1.11 trillion
The total assets of Hong Kong's Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) reached HK$1.11 trillion at the end of the last financial year, the city's pension regulator said in an annual report released on Sunday. That's down from HK$1.12 trillion in 2021-22.  The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) said, as of March this year, around HK$851 billion - or 77 percent - came from contributions, while the rest was investment returns. Of the 10.9 million MPF accounts, more than a quarter had invested according to the default investment strategy. Another 68,000 were tax-deductible voluntary contribution accounts. The average fund expense ratio was 1.33 percent, down 37 percent from when it was first introduced in 2007, the MPFA added.  The body also noted that it has successfully recovered a total of HK$145 million in default contributions for 96,600 affected employees in the 12 months ending in March this year.  Chairman Ayesha Macpherson Lau said the authority always strives to prioritise the interests of scheme members.  "In order to respond to people's aspirations for better retirement protection, the MPFA has pursued continual reforms, including improving the investment framework and reducing fee levels, so that the MPF System can better meet the expectations of scheme members and deliver better retirement outcomes for them," she said.  The authority said its key focus in the coming year would be to closely manage the contractor's development of its centralised digital platform for its pension scheme, which is expected to be rolled out in 2024.  It added that it would closely supervise the preparation of trustees for moving data to the electronic platform.