**********************************
According to statistics published today (May 31) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorised institutions decreased by 0.7% in April 2007. While Hong Kong dollar deposits declined by 2.4%, foreign currency deposits rose by 1.4%. Within foreign currency deposits, renminbi deposits increased by around 1% to RMB 25.5 billion yuan in April.
Total loans and advances declined by 3.2% during the month, as the decrease in Hong Kong dollar loans exceeded the increase in foreign currency loans. Loans for use in Hong Kong shrank by 4.1%, while loans for use outside Hong Kong grew by 2.3%. Reflecting a larger contraction in loans relative to deposits, the Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio decreased to 73.9% at the end of April.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, Hong Kong dollar M1 declined by 2.2% in April but increased by 9.4% from a year earlier. Unadjusted Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both decreased by 2.3% during the month. On a year-on-year basis, Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 rose by 14.9% and 14.8% respectively.
For further enquiries, please contact:
Peggy Lo, Manager (Press), at 2878 1687 or
Hing-Fung Wong, Officer (Press), at 2878 1802
Ends/Thursday, May 31, 2007
Issued at HKT 16:31
NNNN
