Monetary Statistics for May 2000

According to statistics published today (29 June 2000) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits of all authorised institutions increased, while total loans and advances decreased during the month of May. Table 1 provides a summary and comparison with earlier months.

Deposits

Total deposits increased slightly in May. The share of Hong Kong dollar deposits in total deposits remained unchanged at 54.0% in May, compared with the previous month.

Hong Kong dollar deposits decreased slightly by 0.1% in May, following a decline of 0.6% in April. Among different categories of deposits, savings deposits decreased notably by 4.3%, while demand and time deposits increased by 0.3% and 1.4% respectively. The fall in savings deposits reflected probably a widening of the spreads between time deposit rates and savings rate.

Foreign currency deposits increased for the fourth consecutive month, albeit at a more moderate rate of 0.2% in May. The increase was a result of a 1.2% rise in non-US dollar deposits, which more than offset a 0.5% decline in US dollar deposits.

Loans and advances

Total loans and advances contracted by 1.1% in May. Of the total, domestic loans increased slightly by 0.3%, following a decline of 0.3% in April. Loans for use outside Hong Kong registered a larger decline of 4.7%. Analysed by currency, Hong Kong dollar-denominated loans increased by 0.5% in May, while foreign currency loans shrank by 3.6%. As Hong Kong dollar deposits declined while Hong Kong dollar loans increased, the Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio rose slightly from 93.7% in April to 94.3% in May.

Money supply

Hong Kong dollar M1 declined by 0.6% in May. The decline was a result of a 1.7% fall in currency held by the public, which more than offset the rise in demand deposits. Meanwhile, Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 declined slightly by 0.3% and 0.2% respectively. Compared with a year ago, Hong Kong dollar M1 rose by 7.3% in May, while Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 increased by 1.6% and 1.8% respectively.

For further enquiries, please contact:

Jasmin Fung, Manager (Press), at 2878 8246 or
Alice Lo, Manager (Press), at 2878 1843

Hong Kong Monetary Authority

29 June 2000