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 authorized institutions increased by 2.5 per cent in January 2018. With increases in savings, demand and time deposits, Hong Kong-dollar deposits expanded by 3.6 per cent during the month. Overall foreign-currency deposits grew by 1.5 per cent in January. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong decreased by 2.3 per cent to RMB546.4 billion at the end of January. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB373.4 billion in January, compared with RMB428.7 billion in December 2017.
 
     Total loans and advances rose by 2.2 per cent in January. Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) picked up by 2.1 per cent from a month ago and loans for use outside Hong Kong expanded by 2.5 per cent. As Hong Kong-dollar deposits increased at a faster pace than Hong Kong-dollar loans, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio decreased to 81.1 per cent at the end of January from 82.7 per cent at the end of December 2017.
 
     Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 rose by 5.0 per cent in January and expanded by 19.1 per cent year on year. Seasonally unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 increased by 3.4 per cent during the month and rose by 12.8 per cent from a year earlier.

Ends/Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Issued at HKT 17:10

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