Monetary Statistics for August 2005

According to statistics published today (Friday) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions increased further by 0.6% in August 2005, with Hong Kong dollar and foreign currency deposits rising by 0.7% and 0.4% respectively. Within foreign currency deposits, renminbi deposits amounted to RMB22.4 billion yuan in August, compared with RMB21.9 billion yuan in July.

Total loans and advances were virtually unchanged in August. Of the total, loans for use in Hong Kong were little changed, while loans for use outside Hong Kong declined by 0.3%. Analysed by currency, foreign currency loans decreased, while Hong Kong dollar lending increased. As Hong Kong dollar deposits rose more than Hong Kong dollar loans, the loan-to-deposit ratio fell to 85.4% in August.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, Hong Kong dollar M1 decreased by 0.9% in August and by 5.3% from a year earlier. Unadjusted Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both grew by 0.7% during the month, and by 10.1% and 10.0% respectively on a year-on-year comparison.

For further enquiries, please contact:

Jasmin Fung, Manager (Press), at 2878 8246 or
Hing-Fung Wong, Resource Co-ordinator, at 2878 1802

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
30 September 2005

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