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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
According to statistics published today (February 29) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions rose by 1.1% in January. As the expansion in savings deposits exceeded the contraction in demand and time deposits, Hong Kong-dollar deposits increased by 1.3% during the month. While overall foreign-currency deposits grew by 0.9% in January, renminbi deposits in Hong Kong decreased by 2.1% to RMB576.0 billion at the end of the month. The total remittance of the renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB156.4 billion in January, compared with RMB239.0 billion in the previous month.
Total loans and advances grew by 0.7% in January. Loans for use in Hong Kong rose by 0.8% and loans for use outside Hong Kong increased by 0.5%. As Hong Kong-dollar loans were little changed while deposits expanded, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio declined to 83.4% at the end of January from 84.5% a month ago.
Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 decreased by 2.4% in January but increased by 2.2% year on year. Unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 expanded by 1.8% during the month and rose by 5.5% from a year earlier.
Ends/Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Issued at HKT 16:50
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