Monetary Statistics for August 2010

According to statistics published today (Thursday) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions rose by 0.5% in August 2010. Hong Kong-dollar deposits increased by 0.4% during the month as the expansion in demand and savings deposits exceeded the decline in time deposits. Foreign-currency deposits also grew by 0.7% in August. Accounting for around 4.9% of foreign-currency deposits, renminbi deposits in Hong Kong expanded markedly by 25.8% to RMB130.4 billion at the end of August, reflecting the expanding scope of renminbi banking business in Hong Kong.

Total loans and advances climbed by 2.5% in August. Loans for use in Hong Kong expanded by 2.2% and loans for use outside Hong Kong grew by 3.4%. As Hong Kong-dollar loans rose at a faster rate than deposits, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio increased to 78.5% at the end of August from 77.3% at the end of July.

Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 rose by 3.6% in August and expanded by 12.6% year on year. Unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 increased by 0.4% during the month and climbed by 5.2% from a year earlier.

Annex

For media enquiries, please contact:
Peggy Lo, Manager (Communications), at 2878 1687 or
Natalie Wu, Officer (Communications), at 2878 8246

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
30 September 2010