Monetary Statistics for September 2019

According to statistics published today (Thursday) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions edged down by 0.3% in September 2019 as compared to August. Among the total, Hong Kong dollar deposits grew by 0.6%, while overall foreign-currency deposits declined by 1.2%. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong decreased by 3.2% to RMB623.4 billion at the end of September. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB458.2 billion in September, compared with RMB497.3 billion in August.

In September, transfer of funds resulted in a lower amount of foreign-currency deposits placed by the Exchange Fund with authorized institutions. Excluding this factor, foreign-currency deposits declined slightly by 0.4% in September while total deposits increased slightly by 0.1%.

Total loans and advances increased by 1.1% in September. Among the total, both loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) and outside Hong Kong grew by 1.1% from a month ago ¹. The Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio picked up to 90.6% at the end of September from 90.1% at the end of August, as Hong Kong dollar loans rose at a faster pace than Hong Kong dollar deposits.

In the third quarter of 2019, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) increased by 1.9% following growth of 2.3% in the previous quarter. Analysed by economic use, the increase in loans during the third quarter was mainly led by residential mortgage loans.

On a month-on-month basis, Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 increased by 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively, and rose by 1.9% and 1.8% compared to a year ago. The increases in the Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 were due largely to the increase in Hong Kong dollar deposits. The seasonally-adjusted Hong Kong dollar M1 decreased by 0.5% in September and by 3.4% from a year earlier, reflecting in part investment-related activities. Total M2 and M3 edged down by 0.2% and 0.3% respectively in September, but rose by 2.8% and 2.6% from a year earlier. Excluding the effect of transfer of funds by the Exchange Fund with authorized institutions, total M2 and M3 grew slightly by 0.2% and 0.1% respectively.

As monthly monetary statistics are subject to volatilities due to a wide range of transient factors, such as seasonal and IPO-related funding demand as well as business and investment-related activities, caution is required when interpreting the statistics.

Annex

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
31 October 2019

Release Schedule of Monetary Statistics in Hong Kong

The monthly release schedule of monetary statistics in Year 2020 is as follows.

                           Reference Month                           Release Date

                           January 2020                                   28 February 2020

                           February 2020                                  31 March 2020

                           March 2020                                      29 April 2020

                           April 2020                                         29 May 2020

                           May 2020                                          30 June 2020

                           June 2020                                         31 July 2020

                           July 2020                                          31 August 2020

                           August 2020                                     30 September 2020

                           September 2020                              30 October 2020

                           October 2020                                   30 November 2020

                           November 2020                               31 December 2020

                           December 2020                                29 January 2021