Monetary Statistics for August 1999

According to statistics published today (29 September 1999) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits remained unchanged while total loans and advances decreased during the month of August. Table 1 provides a summary and comparison with earlier months.

Deposits

Total deposits remained unchanged in August. As Hong Kong dollar deposits declined while foreign currency deposits increased, the share of Hong Kong dollar deposits in total deposits decreased from 56.0% in July to 55.3% in August.

Hong Kong dollar deposits decreased by 1.1% in August. Among different categories, time deposits and savings deposits recorded declines of 1.7% and 0.9% respectively, while demand deposits increased by 4.3%.

Foreign currency deposits grew by 1.6% in August. Of the total, US dollar deposits and non-US dollar foreign currency deposits increased by 1.4% and 1.7% respectively. Valuation effects accounted for part of the increase in non-US dollar deposits.

Loans and advances

Total loans and advances decreased slightly (by 0.5%) in August, after registering a marginal increase of 0.1% in the preceding month. Of the total, both domestic loans (-0.5%) and loans for use outside Hong Kong (-0.4%) declined in August. As Hong Kong dollar deposits fell more than Hong Kong dollar loans, the Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio increased from 95.0% at end-July to 95.5% at end-August.

Money supply

Hong Kong dollar M1 grew by 2.4% in August, as both demand deposits and currency held by the public increased by 4.3% and 0.2% respectively. Meanwhile, Hong Kong dollar M2 and Hong Kong dollar M3 declined slightly during the month by 0.9% and 0.8% respectively. In the twelve months to August, Hong Kong dollar M1 grew by 9.3%, while Hong Kong dollar M2 and Hong Kong dollar M3 increased by 4.2% and 4.0% respectively.

Note to editors

For enquiries, please contact the Press Section, Hong Kong Monetary Authority (Telephone: 2878 8261).

Hong Kong Monetary Authority

29 September 1999

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