Monetary Statistics for April 2009

According to statistics published today (Friday) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions increased by 0.3% in April 2009. Hong Kong-dollar deposits rose by 0.8% during the month, as the expansion in savings deposits exceeded the contraction in demand and time deposits. Foreign-currency deposits declined slightly by 0.1% in April. Accounting for around 2.1% of foreign-currency deposits, renminbi deposits in Hong Kong contracted by 0.2% to RMB53.0 billion at the end of April.

Total loans and advances shrank by 0.5% in April. Loans for use in Hong Kong declined by 0.7% while loans for use outside Hong Kong increased by 0.6%. Because Hong Kong-dollar loans contracted while deposits rose, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio declined to 74.7% at the end of April, from 75.5% at the end of March.

Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 rose by 1.5% in April and increased by 17.1% from a year earlier. Unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 grew by 0.6% during the month and climbed by 3.8% year on year.

Annex

For further enquiries, please contact:
Thomas Chan, Communications Chief, at 2878 1480 or
Hing-fung Wong, Manager (Communications), at 2878 1802

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
29 May 2009