Monetary Statistics for December 2003

Press Releases

30 Jan 2004

Monetary Statistics for December 2003

According to statistics published today (Friday) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions grew by 1.6% in December. Of the total, Hong Kong dollar deposits and foreign currency deposits rose by 2.0% and 1.2% respectively.

Total loans and advances increased by 0.6% in December. Of the total, loans for use in Hong Kong rose by 0.7%, while loans for use outside Hong Kong declined by 0.1%. Analysed by currency, Hong Kong dollar loans and foreign currency loans both recorded a small rise. As Hong Kong dollar deposits registered a larger increase than Hong Kong dollar loans, the Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio dropped to 81.5% in December.

Analysed by economic use, the expansion of domestic loans in the December quarter was broad-based. In particular, loans for stockbrokers and financial concerns rose notably. Trade financing, loans for manufacturing, transport and transport equipment also registered some increases. On the other hand, property-related loans decreased during the quarter.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, Hong Kong dollar M1 grew by 6.4% during the month and by 35.8% from a year ago. Unadjusted Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both rose by 2.0% during the month and by 6.2% and 5.9% respectively on a year-on-year comparison.

For further enquiries, please contact:

Kevin Ip, Manager (Press), at 2878 1687 or
Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
30 January 2004

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