Monetary Statistics for September 2004

According to statistics published today (Friday) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions grew for the second consecutive month by 1.7% in September. Of the total, Hong Kong dollar and foreign currency deposits rose by 1.5% and 1.8% respectively. Within foreign currency deposits, renminbi deposits amounted to RMB7.7 billion yuan in September, compared with RMB7.5 billion yuan in August.

Total loans and advances expanded further by 0.8% in September. Loans for use in Hong Kong increased by 1.0%, while those for use outside Hong Kong fell by 0.7%. Analysed by currency, Hong Kong dollar and foreign currency loans both recorded an increase. As Hong Kong dollar deposits rose more than Hong Kong dollar loans, the loan-to-deposit ratio declined slightly to 85.4% in September.

Analysed by economic uses, lending grew in most sectors on a quarter-on-quarter comparison. In particular, transport-related loans, lending to wholesale and retail trade, and trade financing registered notable increases. On the other hand, property-related loans fell moderately during the quarter.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, Hong Kong dollar M1 decreased by 1.3% in September, but expanded by 24.1% from a year ago. Unadjusted Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 rose by 1.5% and 1.4% respectively during the month, and by 0.7% and 0.6% from a year earlier.

Release Schedule of Monetary Statistics in Hong Kong

The monthly release schedule of monetary statistics in Year 2005 is as follows.

Release Date	Reference Month
28 February 2005	January 2005
31 March 2005	February 2005
29 April 2005	March 2005
31 May 2005	April 2005
30 June 2005	May 2005
29 July 2005	June 2005
31 August 2005	July 2005
30 September 2005	August 2005
31 October 2005	September 2005
30 November 2005	October 2005
30 December 2005	November 2005
27 January 2006	December 2005

For further enquiries, please contact:

Jasmin Fung, Manager (Press), at 2878 8246 or
Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
29 October 2004

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