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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 increased by 0.3% in April 2008. Hong Kong dollar deposits rose by 0.3%, as the expansion in savings deposits exceeded the decreases in demand and time deposits. Foreign currency deposits grew by 0.2%. In particular, renminbi deposits increased by 33.0% to RMB76.6 billion at the end of April, accounting for around 3.1% of foreign currency deposits.
Total loans and advances rose by 1.6% in April. Loans for use in Hong Kong expanded by 1.6% and loans for use outside Hong Kong grew by 1.9%. With faster growth in loans relative to deposits, the Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio picked up further to 77.4% at the end of April, compared with 76.5% at the end of March.
Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong dollar M1 decreased by 0.1% in April but rose by 14.6% year on year. Unadjusted Hong Kong dollar M3 expanded by 0.1% during the month and grew by 10.5% from a year earlier.
For further enquiries, please contact:
Hing-fung Wong, Manager (Press), at 2878 1802 or
Lilian Goh, Officer (Press), at 2878 8246
Ends/Friday, May 30, 2008
Issued at HKT 19:30
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