Monetary Statistics for April 2002

According to statistics published today (Friday) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits increased while loans of all authorized institutions declined during the month of April. Table 1 provides a summary and comparison with earlier months.

Deposits

Total deposits grew slightly by 0.5% in April. The increase was across-the-board, with both Hong Kong dollar and foreign currency deposits rising.

Hong Kong dollar deposits increased by 0.5%, attributable to increases in demand and savings deposits, while time deposits dropped moderately. Foreign currency deposits registered a small rise of 0.6%. Both US dollar and non-US dollar foreign currency deposits rose during the month.

Loans and advances

Total loans and advances declined by 0.3% during the month. Of the total, loans for use outside Hong Kong shrank by 1.4%, while loans for use in Hong Kong decreased marginally by 0.1%.

Analysed by currency, both Hong Kong dollar denominated loans and foreign currency loans decreased. As Hong Kong dollar deposits registered an increase while Hong Kong dollar loans declined, the Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio fell slightly to 90.3%.

Money supply

On a seasonally adjusted basis, Hong Kong dollar M1 rose by 2.9% in April and by 16.9% from a year ago. Both unadjusted Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 increased by 0.5% during the month. Compared with a year ago, Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 grew by 0.7% and 0.9% respectively.

For further enquiries, please contact:

Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480 or
Sylvia Yip, Manager (Press), at 2878 1689

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
31 May 2002