Monetary Statistics for July 2008

According to statistics published today (Friday) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions increased by 0.3% in July 2008. Hong Kong dollar deposits declined by 0.4% during the month, driven by the contraction in demand and time deposits. Foreign currency deposits rose by 1.1% in July. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong decreased for the second consecutive month, by around 1% to RMB77.1 billion at the end of July.

Total loans and advances rose by 1.6% in July. Loans for use in Hong Kong expanded by 1.8% and loans for use outside Hong Kong grew by 0.9%. Because loans continued to climb while deposits declined, the Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio increased to 83.2% at the end of July.

Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong dollar M1 decreased by 2.3% in July but rose by 10.7% year on year. Unadjusted Hong Kong dollar M3 declined by 0.4% during the month but expanded by 1.4% from a year earlier.

Annex

For further enquiries, please contact:
Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480 or
Lilian Goh, Officer (Press), at 2878 8246

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
29 August 2008