HKMA: Monetary statistics for April 2006
According to statistics published today (Tuesday) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions grew by 2.5% in April 2006. Of the total, Hong Kong dollar and foreign currency deposits rose by 2.3% and 2.7% respectively.
Within foreign currency deposits, renminbi deposits grew by 1.1% to RMB22.7 billion yuan in April.
Total loans and advances increased by 1.7% in April, with loans for use in Hong Kong and outside Hong Kong rising by 1.4% and 3.4% respectively. Hong Kong dollar and foreign currency loans both registered an increase. As Hong Kong dollar deposits grew proportionally more than Hong Kong dollar loans, the loan-to-deposit ratio fell further to 79.2% in April. On a seasonally adjusted basis, Hong Kong dollar M1 expanded by 2.0% in April but decreased by 4.2% from a year earlier. Unadjusted Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both rose by 2.2% during the month, and by 13.5% and 13.6% respectively on a year-on-year comparison.
–www.theasianbanker.com (May 31 2006)–