Monetary Statistics for May 2010
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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     According to statistics published today (June 30) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorised institutions decreased by 3.9% in May 2010.  Hong Kong-dollar deposits contracted markedly by 5.4% during the month, partly reflecting a high base of comparison due to initial public offering activity in the previous month. Foreign-currency deposits also shrank by 2.2% in May. Accounting for around 3.3% of foreign-currency deposits, renminbi deposits in Hong Kong grew by 4.7% to RMB84.7 billion at the end of May.

     Total loans and advances declined by 0.9% in May. Loans for use in Hong Kong decreased by 1.3% but loans for use outside Hong Kong expanded by 0.5%. As Hong Kong-dollar loans contracted at a slower rate than deposits, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio increased from 74.2% at the end of April to 76.4% at the end of May.

     Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 shrank by 6.6% in May but rose by 23.0% year on year. Unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 contracted by 5.1% during the month but expanded by 4.4% from a year earlier.

For further enquiries, please contact:
Peggy Lo, Manager (Communications), at 2878 1687 or
Anissa Wong, Manager (Communications), at 2878 1802

Ends/Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Issued at HKT 17:18

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