Monetary Statistics for December 2012

According to statistics published today (Thursday) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions rose by 1.8% in December. As the expansion in demand and savings deposits exceeded the contraction in time deposits, Hong Kong-dollar deposits expanded by 1.9% during the month. Overall foreign-currency deposits grew by 1.6% in December, and renminbi deposits in Hong Kong increased by 5.6% to RMB603.0 billion. The total remittance of the renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB264.1 billion in December, compared with RMB243.0 billion in the previous month.

Total loans and advances picked up by 1.5% in December. Loans for use in Hong Kong rose by 0.9% and loans for use outside Hong Kong expanded by 2.8%. As Hong Kong-dollar loans increased at a slower rate than deposits, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio declined to 79.8% at the end of December from 80.7% a month ago.

In the final quarter of 2012, loans for use in Hong Kong expanded by 2.5%, after rising by 1.6% in the previous quarter. Analysed by economic use, the quarterly expansion in loans was led by loans for building, construction, property development and investment, residential mortgage loans, and lending to financial concerns.

Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 increased by 2.1% in December and expanded by 15.8% year on year. Unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 rose by 1.9% during the month and picked up by 12.1% from a year earlier.

Annex

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
31 January 2013