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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
According to statistics published today (May 30) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorised institutions rose by 2.2% in April 2014. With demand, savings and time deposits increasing, Hong Kong-dollar deposits went up by 2.3% during the month. Overall foreign-currency deposits grew by 2.1% in April, while renminbi deposits in Hong Kong increased by 1.6% to RMB959.9 billion at the end of April. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB461.5 billion in April, compared with RMB602.4 billion in March.
Total loans and advances edged up by 0.4% in April, within which loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) increased marginally by 0.3% and loans for use outside Hong Kong grew by 0.7%. As Hong Kong-dollar loans expanded at a slower rate than deposits, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio decreased to 82.7% at the end of April from 84.3% at the end of March.
Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 picked up by 2.2% in April and rose by 9.2% year on year. Seasonally unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 grew by 2.2% and expanded by 8.6% from a year earlier.
Ends/Friday, May 30, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:25
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