Monetary Statistics for December 2005

According to statistics published today (Friday) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions increased by 1.5% in December 2005, with Hong Kong dollar and foreign currency deposits rising by 0.6% and 2.6% respectively. Within foreign currency deposits, renminbi deposits grew by 0.4% to RMB22.6 billion yuan in December.

Total loans and advances expanded slightly by 0.1% in December, as a rise of 0.2% in loans for use in Hong Kong was partly offset by a decrease of 0.5% in loans for use outside Hong Kong. Analysed by currency, Hong Kong dollar loans increased while foreign currency loans registered a decline. As Hong Kong dollar deposits rose more than Hong Kong dollar loans, the loan-to-deposit ratio decreased to 84.3% in December.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, Hong Kong dollar M1 fell by 3.1% in December and by 15.1% from a year earlier. Unadjusted Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both rose by 0.6% during the month, and by 5.5% and 5.7% respectively on a year-on-year comparison.

For further enquiries, please contact:
Jasmin Fung, Manager (Press), at 2878 8246 or 
Kevin Ip, Manager (Press), at 2878 1687

Hong Kong Monetary Authority 
27 January 2006

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