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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
According to statistics published today (May 31) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorised institutions rose by 1.0% in April. As the expansion in demand and savings deposits exceeded the contraction in time deposits, Hong Kong-dollar deposits increased by 0.7% during the month. Overall foreign-currency deposits rose by 1.4% in April, while renminbi deposits in Hong Kong declined by 0.4% to RMB552.4 billion. The total remittance of the renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB177.1 billion in April, compared with RMB227.3 billion in the previous month.
Total loans and advances increased by 0.9% in April. Loans for use in Hong Kong rose by 0.8% and loans for use outside Hong Kong grew by 1.1%. As Hong Kong-dollar loans increased at a slower rate than deposits, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio edged down to 82.4% at the end of April from 82.5% a month ago.
Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 grew by 3.4% in April and expanded by 8.6% year on year. Unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 rose by 0.6% during the month and increased by 5.5% from a year earlier.
Ends/Thursday, May 31, 2012
Issued at HKT 16:32
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