The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     According to statistics published today (May 31) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions increased by 2.2 per cent in April 2024. Among the total, Hong Kong dollar deposits and foreign currency deposits increased by 0.5 per cent and 3.7 per cent respectively in April. In the year to end-April, total deposits and Hong Kong dollar deposits grew by 2.1 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong increased by 15.2 per cent in April to RMB1,088.2 billion at the end of April, mainly reflecting fund flows of corporates. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB1,257.0 billion in April, compared with RMB1,248.4 billion in March. 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 1.0 per cent in April, and decreased by 2.0 per cent in the year to end-April. Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) and loans for use outside Hong Kong decreased by 0.6 per cent and 2.3 per cent respectively in April. The Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio decreased to 82.1 per cent at the end of April from 83.2 per cent at the end of March, as Hong Kong dollar deposits increased while Hong Kong dollar loans decreased.
      
     Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both increased by 0.5 per cent in April and both increased by 0.5 per cent when compared to a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted Hong Kong dollar M1 increased by 0.4 per cent in April while decreased by 9.9 per cent compared to a year ago, reflecting in part investment-related activities. Total M2 and total M3 both increased by 2.1 per cent in April. Compared to a year earlier, total M2 and total M3 increased by 5.5 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectively. 
      
     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/Friday, May 31, 2024
Issued at HKT 16:30

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