Hong Kong Monetary Authority - Monetary Statistics for August 1997

Press Releases

29 Sep 1997

Monetary Statistics for August 1997

According to statistics published today (Monday, 29 September) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits and loans and advances fell slightly during August 1997. Table 1 gives a summary and comparisons with earlier months.

Deposits

Total deposits declined by 0.8% in August, reversing a 0.5% rise in July. The fall was primarily attributable to a 1.4% drop in HK$ deposits, which more than offset an increase of 0.2% in foreign currency deposits.

The fall in HK$ deposits was across-the-board, partly reflecting the less buoyant asset markets. During the month, demand deposits dropped by a marked 5.8%, while savings deposits declined by 2.8%. On the other hand, time deposits only fell by 0.5%, following a rise of 3% in July, as higher deposit rates continued to be offered by banks in response to sustained high interbank rates.

US$ foreign currency deposits rose by a modest 0.5% in August, having edged up by the same rate in the previous month, while non-US$ foreign currency deposits were virtually unchanged, after a 3.1% decline in July.

Loans and advances

In line with the fall in deposits, total loans and advances declined by 0.4% in August, having dropped by 0.6% in July. During the month, domestic credit expansion slowed further to 0.6%, as loans for trade financing reduced by 0.9% and other domestic loans grew more moderately at 0.8%. Meanwhile, offshore loans fell by 1.5%, having declined by 2.5% in the previous month.

Analyzed by currency, HK$ loans were up slightly by 0.3% in August, while foreign currency loans decreased by 0.9%. As HK$ loans increased but HK$ deposits declined, the HK$ loan-to-deposit ratio edged up from 107.7% at end-July to 109.6% at end-August.

Money supply

Hong Kong dollar money supply fell in August across-the-board, with HK$M1 dropping by 3.6% and HK$M2 and HK$M3 declining by 1.3% and 1.2% respectively. Compared to a year earlier, HK$M1, HK$M2 and HK$M3 rose by 13.6%, 21.8% and 21.7% respectively. Notwithstanding the slow-down, the annual growth in HK$M3 continued to outpace that of nominal GDP.

Note to editor

For enquiries, please contact the Press and Publications Section, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, at telephone 2878 8261.

Hong Kong Monetary Authority

29 September 1997

MONETARY STATISTICS -- Aug 1997
(HK$mn)

		Earlier months(% change to Aug 1997)
	Aug 1997	Jul 1997		May 1997		Aug 1996
Money Supply M1 - HK$ - Foreign currency - Total M2 - HK$ - Foreign currency - Total M3 - HK$ - Foreign currency - Total Notes and coins in circulation of which held by public	200,435 20,754 221,189 1,682,216 1,049,300 2,731,516 1,700,003 1,118,252 2,818,255 90,296 79,561	207,906 20,132 228,038 1,704,434 1,047,678 2,752,112 1,720,425 1,118,619 2,839,044 89,515 79,580	(-3.6) (3.1) (-3.0) (-1.3) (0.2) (-0.7) (-1.2) (0.0) (-0.7) (0.9) (0.0)	205,486 20,604 226,089 1,633,702 1,075,451 2,709,153 1,650,921 1,144,753 2,795,674 88,848 78,900	(-2.5) (0.7) (-2.2) (3.0) (-2.4) (0.8) (3.0) (-2.3) (0.8) (1.6) (0.8)	176,382 19,673 196,054 1,380,633 1,027,164 2,407,797 1,396,382 1,093,305 2,489,687 83,174 73,796	(13.6) (5.5) (12.8) (21.8) (2.2) (13.4) (21.7) (2.3) (13.2) (8.6) (7.8)
Total Deposits Total Demand deposits Total Savings deposits Total Time deposits With licensed banks With restricted licence banks With deposit-taking companies HK$ deposits @ Demand deposits Savings deposits Time deposits @ US$ deposits * Other foreign currency deposits * Foreign currency deposits* All deposits Foreign currency swap deposits	141,628 520,546 1,994,446 1,928,914 51,033 14,499 1,572,618 120,874 362,934 1,088,810 519,669 564,335 1,084,003 2,656,621 34,872	148,458 526,402 2,002,583 1,938,073 49,690 14,820 1,595,574 128,326 373,295 1,093,953 517,277 564,592 1,081,870 2,677,444 36,097	(-4.6) (-1.1) (-0.4) (-0.5) (2.7) (-2.2) (-1.4) (-5.8) (-2.8) (-0.5) (0.5) (0.0) (0.2) (-0.8) (-3.4)	147,189 532,073 1,955,323 1,893,435 47,402 14,486 1,527,119 126,585 374,008 1,026,526 521,048 586,419 1,107,467 2,634,585 36,542	(-3.8) (-2.2) (2.0) (1.9) (7.7) (0.1) (3.0) (-4.5) (-3.0) (6.1) (-0.3) (-3.8) (-2.1) (0.8) (-4.6)	122,259 473,487 1,746,830 1,685,963 44,889 15,978 1,280,034 102,586 332,951 844,497 515,418 547,124 1,062,542 2,342,575 40,048	(15.8) (9.9) (14.2) (14.4) (13.7) (-9.3) (22.9) (17.8) (9.0) (28.9) (0.8) (3.1) (2.0) (13.4) (-12.9)
Total Loans and advances Loans for use in H.K. To finance H.K.'s visible trade To finance merchandising trade not touching H.K. Other loans for use in H.K. Loans for use outside H.K.# Other loans for use outside H.K. Other loans where the place of use is not known Loans in HK$ Loans in foreign currencies Total loans and advances	2,154,326 176,046 22,101 1,956,178 2,089,306 2,039,622 49,683 1,722,865 2,520,767 4,243,631	2,140,794 177,840 22,153 1,940,801 2,120,827 2,070,262 50,565 1,717,752 2,543,869 4,261,622	(0.6) (-1.0) (-0.2) (0.8) (-1.5) (-1.5) (-1.7) (0.3) (-0.9) (-0.4)	2,080,880 170,613 20,067 1,890,200 2,104,473 2,057,740 46,734 1,683,947 2,501,407 4,185,354	(3.5) (3.2) (10.1) (3.5) (-0.7) (-0.9) (6.3) (2.3) (0.8) (1.4)	1,738,365 165,052 20,566 1,552,747 2,117,759 2,077,307 40,451 1,377,566 2,478,558 3,856,124	(23.9) (6.7) (7.5) (26.0) (-1.3) (-1.8) (22.8) (25.1) (1.7) (10.0)