Monetary Statistics for December 2017

According to statistics published today (Wednesday) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions increased by 0.5% in December 2017. As the increase in time deposits offset the decline in demand and savings deposits, Hong Kong-dollar deposits stayed virtually unchanged during the month. Overall foreign-currency deposits expanded by 1.1% in December. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong stayed virtually unchanged at RMB559.1 billion at the end of December. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB428.7 billion in December, compared with RMB440.5 billion in November.

Total loans and advances rose by 1.2% in December. Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) increased by 1.0% from a month ago and loans for use outside Hong Kong expanded by 1.6%. As Hong Kong-dollar loans increased while Hong Kong-dollar deposits stayed virtually unchanged, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio picked up to 82.7% at the end of December from 81.0% at the end of November.

In the fourth quarter of 2017, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) grew by 2.8% after increasing by 2.7% in the previous quarter. Analysed by economic use, the quarterly increase in loans was mainly led by loans to financial concerns and loans to building, construction, property development and investment.

Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 edged up by 0.1% in December and expanded by 11.9% year on year. Seasonally unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 increased by 0.2% during the month and rose by 11.6% from a year earlier.

Annex

 
Hong Kong Monetary Authority
31 January 2018