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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
According to statistics published today (February 28) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorised institutions increased by 0.1% in January 2014. As the contraction in demand and savings deposits exceeded the expansion in time deposits, Hong Kong-dollar deposits went down by 0.3% in January. Overall foreign-currency deposits edged up by 0.4% in January, and renminbi deposits in Hong Kong grew by 3.8% to RMB893.4 billion at the end of January. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB492.3 billion in January, compared with RMB469.6 billion in December 2013.
Total loans and advances picked up by 3.7% in January. Loans for use in Hong Kong including trade finance expanded by 4.2% from a month ago, and loans for use outside Hong Kong grew by 2.6%. As Hong Kong-dollar loans increased while deposits declined, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio picked up to 84.4% at the end of January from 82.1% at the end of December 2013.
Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 decreased by 1.8% in January but expanded by 4.8% year on year. Seasonally unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 picked up by 0.4% during the month and grew by 2.4% from a year earlier.
Ends/Friday, February 28, 2014
Issued at HKT 16:50
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