Monetary Statistics for December 2018

According to statistics published today (Thursday) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions expanded by 1.4% in December 2018. Hong Kong-dollar deposits edged up by 0.3% during the month, as the pick-up in time deposits exceeded the declines in demand and savings deposits. Overall foreign-currency deposits rose by 2.6% in December. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong decreased by 0.4% to RMB615.0 billion at the end of December. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB384.9 billion in December, compared with RMB393.0 billion in November.

Total loans and advances edged up by 0.3% in December. Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) grew by 0.6% from a month ago, while loans for use outside Hong Kong edged down by 0.2%. The Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio picked up to 86.9% at the end of December from 86.2% at the end of November, as Hong Kong-dollar loans grew at a faster pace than Hong Kong-dollar deposits.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) increased by 1.3% following a decline of 1.2% in the previous quarter. Analysed by economic use, the increase in loans during the fourth quarter was mainly led by loans to building, construction, property development and investment, residential mortgage loans, and loans to financial concerns.

On a seasonally-adjusted basis, Hong Kong-dollar M1 decreased by 0.5% in December and declined by 2.6% year-on-year. Seasonally unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 increased by 0.4% during the month and grew by 3.7% from a year earlier.

Annex

 
Hong Kong Monetary Authority
31 January 2019