Monetary statistics for January 2023
************************************
According to statistics published today (February 28) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with Authorized Institutions increased by 1.3 per cent in January 2023. Among the total, Hong Kong dollar deposits increased by 2.4 per cent and foreign currency deposits increased by 0.2 per cent. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong increased by 0.2 per cent in January to RMB837.3 billion at the end of January. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB615.2 billion in January, compared with RMB804.8 billion in December 2022. 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 increased by 1.3 per cent in January. Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) and loans for use outside Hong Kong increased by 1.3 per cent and 1.1 per cent respectively. The Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio decreased to 86.8 per cent at the end of January 2023 from 88.4 per cent at the end of December 2022, as Hong Kong dollar deposits increased at a faster pace than Hong Kong dollar loans.
Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both rose by 2.4 per cent in January and both increased by 1.6 per cent when compared to a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted Hong Kong dollar M1 remained virtually unchanged in January, while it decreased by 16.7 per cent compared to a year ago, reflecting in part investment-related activities. Total M2 and total M3 both rose by 1.3 per cent in January. Compared to a year earlier, total M2 and total M3 both rose by 0.5 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/Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Issued at HKT 16:30
Issued at HKT 16:30
NNNN