According to statistics published today (29 May) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits and loans and advances both registered a modest fall in April 1998. Table 1 gives a summary and comparisons with earlier months.
Deposits
Having risen by 0.1% in March, total deposits declined by 0.4% in April. The fall in deposits was attributable to a 1.1% decrease in foreign currency deposits, which more than offset a rise of 0.2% in HK$ deposits. The share of HK$ deposits to total deposits rose to 57.7% at end-April 1998, from 57.4% at end-March 1998.
HK$ deposits rose for the third consecutive month. Time deposits rose by 0.8%, despite the easing of time deposit rates in April, more than compensating for a fall of 0.7% in demand deposits and a decline of 1.6% in savings deposits.
As for foreign currency deposits, US$ deposits dropped for the second consecutive month, down by 1.2% in April. Non-US$ foreign currency deposits also fell by 1.0%, following a decline of 0.1% in the previous month.
Loans and advances
Total loans and advances declined by 0.1% in April. The fall was attributable to a contraction in offshore lending, which dropped by a modest 0.3%, following a sharp decline of 14.2% in March. Meanwhile, local credit demand continued to be subdued, with loans for trade financing falling by 1.2 % and other loans rising by a meagre 0.1%, as domestic economic activity remained slow.
During April, HK$ loans grew by 0.4%, while foreign currency loans dropped further by 0.6%. As the increase in HK$ loans was faster than that of HK$ deposits, the HK$ loan-to-deposit ratio rose to 111.5% at end-April, from 111.3% at end-March.
Money supply
HK$ M1 fell by 0.9% in April, with cash held by the public declining by 1.3% and demand deposits decreasing by 0.7%. Meanwhile, HK$M2 and HK$M3 were both up by 0.2%. In the twelve months to April, HK$M1 dropped by 10.8%, while HK$M2 and HK$M3 grew by 4.6% and 4.4% respectively.
Note to editor
For enquiries, please contact the Press and Publications Section, Hong Kong Monetary Authority. (Telephone number: 2878 8261)
Hong Kong Monetary Authority
29 May 1998
TABLE 1 : MONETARY STATISTICS - Apr 1998
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(HK$mn) |
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Earlier months (% change to Apr 1998) |
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Apr 1998 |
Mar 1998 |
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Jan 1998 |
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Apr 1997 |
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| Money Supply |
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| M1 - HK$ |
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183,749 |
185,507 |
(-0.9) |
192,060 |
(-4.3) |
206,031 |
(-10.8) |
| Foreign currency |
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17,387 |
16,414 |
(5.9) |
19,485 |
(-10.8) |
20,749 |
(-16.2) |
| Total |
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201,136 |
201,921 |
(-0.4) |
211,545 |
(-4.9) |
226,780 |
(-11.3) |
| M2 - HK$@ |
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1,682,846 |
1,678,693 |
(0.2) |
1,638,633 |
(2.7) |
1,608,177 |
(4.6) |
| Foreign currency* |
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1,122,951 |
1,129,853 |
(-0.6) |
1,132,899 |
(-0.9) |
1,064,078 |
(5.5) |
| Total |
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2,805,797 |
2,808,546 |
(-0.1) |
2,771,532 |
(1.2) |
2,672,254 |
(5.0) |
| M3 - HK$@ |
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1,697,162 |
1,693,582 |
(0.2) |
1,654,664 |
(2.6) |
1,625,293 |
(4.4) |
| Foreign currency* |
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1,172,170 |
1,185,249 |
(-1.1) |
1,193,580 |
(-1.8) |
1,134,486 |
(3.3) |
| Total |
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2,869,332 |
2,878,831 |
(-0.3) |
2,848,244 |
(0.7) |
2,759,779 |
(4.0) |
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| Notes and coins in circulation |
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90,458 |
91,684 |
(-1.3) |
114,054 |
(-20.7) |
88,317 |
(2.4) |
| of which held by public |
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80,181 |
81,205 |
(-1.3) |
96,570 |
(-17.0) |
78,758 |
(1.8) |
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| Total Deposits |
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| Total Demand deposits |
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120,955 |
120,716 |
(0.2) |
114,975 |
(5.2) |
148,022 |
(-18.3) |
| Total Savings deposits |
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510,846 |
517,489 |
(-1.3) |
459,547 |
(11.2) |
515,906 |
(-1.0) |
| Total Time deposits |
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2,072,382 |
2,075,735 |
(-0.2) |
2,096,098 |
(-1.1) |
1,937,014 |
(7.0) |
| With licensed banks |
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2,022,802 |
2,020,890 |
(0.1) |
2,034,783 |
(-0.6) |
1,873,615 |
(8.0) |
| With restricted licence banks |
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38,157 |
42,314 |
(-9.8) |
46,799 |
(-18.5) |
48,894 |
(-22.0) |
| With deposit-taking companies |
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11,423 |
12,531 |
(-8.8) |
14,516 |
(-21.3) |
14,505 |
(-21.2) |
| HK$ deposits@ |
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1,559,950 |
1,557,098 |
(0.2) |
1,504,233 |
(3.7) |
1,503,209 |
(3.8) |
| Demand deposits |
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103,568 |
104,302 |
(-0.7) |
95,490 |
(8.5) |
127,273 |
(-18.6) |
| Savings deposits |
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357,028 |
362,660 |
(-1.6) |
304,323 |
(17.3) |
358,958 |
(-0.5) |
| Time deposits@ |
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1,099,355 |
1,090,135 |
(0.8) |
1,104,420 |
(-0.5) |
1,016,977 |
(8.1) |
| US$ deposits* |
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610,535 |
617,730 |
(-1.2) |
634,991 |
(-3.9) |
524,754 |
(16.3) |
| Other foreign currency deposits* |
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533,697 |
539,112 |
(-1.0) |
531,396 |
(0.4) |
572,980 |
(-6.9) |
| Foreign currency deposits* |
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1,144,232 |
1,156,842 |
(-1.1) |
1,166,387 |
(-1.9) |
1,097,734 |
(4.2) |
| All deposits |
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2,704,182 |
2,713,940 |
(-0.4) |
2,670,620 |
(1.3) |
2,600,943 |
(4.0) |
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| Foreign currency swap deposits |
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40,309 |
40,194 |
(0.3) |
39,100 |
(3.1) |
34,886 |
(15.5) |
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| Total Loans and advances |
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| Loans for use in H.K. |
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2,203,525 |
2,203,438 |
(0.0) |
2,228,811 |
(-1.1) |
2,023,556 |
(8.9) |
| To finance H.K.'s visible trade |
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159,889 |
162,479 |
(-1.6) |
171,778 |
(-6.9) |
168,356 |
(-5.0) |
| To finance merchandising trade not touching H.K. |
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19,929 |
19,513 |
(2.1) |
20,283 |
(-1.7) |
19,811 |
(0.6) |
| Other loans for use in H.K. |
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2,023,707 |
2,021,446 |
(0.1) |
2,036,750 |
(-0.6) |
1,835,389 |
(10.3) |
| Loans for use outside H.K.# |
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1,512,243 |
1,517,192 |
(-0.3) |
1,877,736 |
(-19.5) |
1,955,355 |
(-22.7) |
| Other loans for use outside H.K. |
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1,471,838 |
1,474,825 |
(-0.2) |
1,829,769 |
(-19.6) |
1,910,819 |
(-23.0) |
| Other loans where the place of use is not known |
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40,405 |
42,367 |
(-4.6) |
47,967 |
(-15.8) |
44,535 |
(-9.3) |
| Loans in HK$ |
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1,739,590 |
1,732,612 |
(0.4) |
1,737,268 |
(0.1) |
1,636,110 |
(6.3) |
| Loans in US$ |
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730,639 |
742,983 |
(-1.7) |
787,720 |
(-7.2) |
683,070 |
(7.0) |
| Loans in other foreign currencies |
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1,245,539 |
1,245,036 |
(0.0) |
1,581,559 |
(-21.2) |
1,659,731 |
(-25.0) |
| Loans in foreign currencies |
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1,976,177 |
1,988,019 |
(-0.6) |
2,369,279 |
(-16.6) |
2,342,801 |
(-15.6) |
| Total loans and advances |
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3,715,768 |
3,720,630 |
(-0.1) |
4,106,547 |
(-9.5) |
3,978,911 |
(-6.6) |
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| * Adjusted to exclude foreign currency swap deposits. |
| @ Adjusted to include foreign currency swap deposits. |
| # Including those where place of usage is unknown. |
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| Note : Data may not add up to total due to rounding. |
