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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
According to statistics published today (January 29) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorised institutions increased by 0.7% in December 2015. As the decline in demand and savings deposits exceeded the increase in time deposits, Hong Kong-dollar deposits edged down by 0.1% during the month. By contrast, overall foreign-currency deposits grew by 1.4% in December. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong decreased by 1.5% to RMB851.1 billion at the end of December. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB667.5 billion in December, compared with RMB508.9 billion in November.
Total loans and advances increased by 0.5% in December. Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) grew by 0.8% from a month ago, while loans for use outside Hong Kong edged down by 0.1%. As Hong Kong-dollar loans increased while Hong Kong-dollar deposits declined, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio edged up to 78.2% at the end of December from 78.1% at the end of November.
In the fourth quarter of 2015, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) picked up by 0.2% after declining by 1.3% in the previous quarter. Analysed by economic use, loans to financial concerns and residential mortgage loans expanded, while trade finance and loans to wholesale and retail trade continued to decline.
Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 decreased by 0.9% in December and expanded by 13.4% year on year. Seasonally unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 was virtually unchanged during the month but rose by 10.4% from a year earlier.
Ends/Friday, January 29, 2016
Issued at HKT 17:55
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