*************************************
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
According to statistics published today (January 30) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorised institutions rose by 1.2% in December 2013. As the expansion in time deposits exceeded the contraction in demand and savings deposits, Hong Kong-dollar deposits edged up by 0.2% in December. Overall foreign-currency deposits grew by 2.2% in December, and renminbi deposits in Hong Kong rose by 4.0% to RMB860.5 billion at the end of December. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB469.6 billion in December, compared with RMB439.4 billion in November.
Total loans and advances were virtually unchanged in December. Loans for use in Hong Kong including trade finance decreased slightly by 0.5% from a month ago, while loans for use outside Hong Kong grew by 1.0%. As Hong Kong-dollar loans increased at a faster rate than deposits, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio picked up to 82.1% at the end of December from 81.3% at the end of November.
In the fourth quarter of 2013, loans for use in Hong Kong including trade finance declined by 0.3% after rising by 3.6% in the third quarter. Analysed by economic use, trade finance and loans for building, construction, property development and investment contracted, while loans for financial concerns, and wholesale and retail trade continued to increase.
Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 declined by 1.1% in December but expanded by 9.3% year on year. Seasonally unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 edged up by 0.2% during the month and rose by 5.7% from a year earlier.
Ends/Thursday, January 30, 2014
Issued at HKT 16:31
NNNN
