According to statistics published today (28 February 2000) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits and total loans and advances both decreased during the month of January. Table 1 provides a summary and comparison with earlier months.
Deposits
Total deposits registered a moderate decline of 0.7% in January, following a 0.6% rise in the preceding month. As Hong Kong dollar deposits decreased faster than foreign currency deposits, the share of Hong Kong dollar deposits in total deposits dropped slightly from 55.4% in December 1999 to 55.2% in January 2000.
Hong Kong dollar deposits decreased moderately by 0.9% in January. The decline reflected partly a switch from deposits to cash ahead of the Chinese New Year holidays. Among different categories of deposits, demand and savings deposits increased notably by 8.0% and 3.6% respectively, while time deposits decreased by 3.4%.
Foreign currency deposits recorded a small decline of 0.3% in January. Of the total, US dollar deposits increased by 2.0%, while non-US dollar deposits shrank by 3.5%. The decline in the latter partly reflected valuation effects.
Loans and advances
Total loans and advances contracted by 1.9% in January. Of the total, domestic loans declined moderately by 0.5%, while loans for use outside Hong Kong registered a larger decline, of 4.9%. Analysed by currency, Hong Kong dollar-denominated loans increased slightly by 0.1% in January, while foreign currency loans shrank by 4.6%. As Hong Kong dollar deposits declined while Hong Kong dollar loans increased, the Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio edged up slightly from 91.3% in December to 92.3% in January.
Money supply
Hong Kong dollar M1 increased significantly by 5.9% in January, with both currency held by the public and demand deposits registering a rise. Meanwhile, Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 declined moderately by 0.7% and 0.8% respectively during the month. Compared with a year ago, Hong Kong dollar M1 rose by 22.6% in January, while both Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 were up by 5.4%.
Note to editors
For enquiries, please contact the Press Section, Hong Kong Monetary Authority. (Telephone: 2878 8261)
Hong Kong Monetary Authority
28 February 2000
| © Copyright 1996-2006 irasia.com Ltd. All rights reserved. Tel: (852) 2831-9792. |
|
DISCLAIMER: irasia.com Ltd makes no guarantee as to the accuracy or completeness of any
information provided on this website. Under no circumstances shall irasia.com Ltd be liable
for damages resulting from the use of the information provided on this website.
TRADEMARK & COPYRIGHT: All intellectual property rights subsisting in the contents of this website belong to irasia.com Ltd or have been lawfully licensed to irasia.com Ltd for use on this website. All rights under applicable laws are hereby reserved. Reproduction of this website in whole or in part without the express written permission of irasia.com Ltd is strictly prohibited. TERMS OF USE: Please read the Terms of Use governing the use of our website. |