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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 1.4% in January. Hong Kong-dollar deposits rose slightly by 0.3% during the month, with the expansion in demand and savings deposits exceeding the decline in time deposits. Foreign-currency deposits also climbed by 2.7% in January. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong grew by 17.7% to RMB370.6 billion at the end of January. The total remittance of the renminbi for cross-border trade settlement increased to RMB108.0 billion in January 2011 from RMB100.9 billion in December 2010.
Total loans and advances expanded by 3.0% in January. Loans for use in Hong Kong grew by 3.4% and loans for use outside Hong Kong rose by 1.4%. As Hong Kong-dollar loans increased at a faster rate than deposits, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio climbed from 78.1% at the end of December 2010 to 79.3% at the end of January 2011.
Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 increased by 7.0% in January and expanded by 13.1% year on year. Unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 rose slightly by 0.9% during the month and increased by 9.5% from a year earlier.
Ends/Monday, February 28, 2011
Issued at HKT 17:17
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