The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     According to statistics published today (March 31) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions grew by 0.7% in February 2017.  As the increase in savings and demand deposits exceeded the decrease in time deposits, Hong Kong-dollar deposits expanded by 1.0% during the month. Overall foreign-currency deposits increased by 0.4% in February. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong decreased by 2.1% to RMB511.4 billion at the end of February. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB238.3 billion in February, compared with RMB271.0 billion in January.

     Total loans and advances grew by 0.9% in February. Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) increased by 0.5% from a month ago, and loans for use outside Hong Kong rose by 1.9%. As Hong Kong-dollar deposits grew at a faster pace than Hong Kong-dollar loans, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio decreased to 75.9% at the end of February from 76.2% at the end of January.

     Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 increased by 2.4% in February but expanded by 14.4% year on year. Seasonally unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 increased by 0.8% during the month and rose by 12.8% from a year earlier.

Ends/Friday, March 31, 2017
Issued at HKT 16:30

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