The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     According to statistics published today (October 31) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorised institutions remained virtually unchanged in September 2022. Among the total, Hong Kong dollar deposits decreased by 1.1 per cent while foreign currency deposits increased by 1.2 per cent mainly reflecting fund flows of corporates and increased fund-raising activities. In the year to end-September, total deposits rose by 0.6 per cent while Hong Kong dollar deposits decreased by 0.5 per cent. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong increased by 1.0 per cent in September to RMB857.7 billion at the end of September. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB886.5 billion in September, compared with RMB794.2 billion in August. It should be noted that changes in deposits are affected by a wide range of factors, such as interest rate movements and fund-raising activities. It is therefore more appropriate to observe the longer-term trends, and not to over-generalise fluctuations in a single month.  
      
     Total loans and advances decreased by 0.5 per cent in September, and decreased by 0.6 per cent in the year to end-September. Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) edged down by 0.1 per cent in September and loans for use outside Hong Kong decreased by 1.5 per cent. The Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio increased to 90.1 per cent at the end of September from 88.7 per cent at the end of August, as Hong Kong dollar loans increased while Hong Kong dollar deposits decreased.
      
     For the third quarter of 2022 as a whole, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) decreased by 0.8 per cent after edging up by 0.1 per cent in the previous quarter. Analysed by economic use, the decrease in loans during the third quarter was mainly led by trade finance, and loans to building, construction, property development and investment.
      
     Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both decreased by 1.1 per cent in September and were both lower by 0.8 per cent when compared to a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted Hong Kong dollar M1 decreased by 5.0 per cent in September, and decreased by 11.3 per cent compared to a year ago, reflecting in part investment-related activities. Total M2 edged down by 0.1 per cent in September while total M3 remained virtually unchanged. Compared to a year earlier, total M2 and total M3 both rose by 1.6 per cent.
      
     As monthly monetary statistics are subject to volatilities due to a wide range of transient factors, such as seasonal and IPO-related funding demand as well as business and investment-related activities, caution is required when interpreting the statistics.

Ends/Monday, October 31, 2022
Issued at HKT 16:50

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