The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
According to statistics published today (March 31) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorised institutions edged down by 0.1 per cent in February 2020. Among the total, Hong Kong dollar deposits declined by 0.5 per cent, while overall foreign-currency deposits increased by 0.3 per cent. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong increased by 4.3 per cent to RMB638.7 billion at the end of February. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB481.0 billion in February, compared with RMB404.7 billion in January.
Total loans and advances increased by 0.5 per cent in February. Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) went up by 0.9 per cent and loans for use outside Hong Kong decreased by 0.3 per cent from a month ago. The Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio edged up to 89.9 per cent at the end of February from 89.4 per cent at the end of January, as Hong Kong-dollar deposits decreased while Hong Kong-dollar loans stayed virtually unchanged.
Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both declined by 0.5 per cent in February, but grew by 1.9 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively compared to a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted Hong Kong dollar M1 rose by 1.3 per cent in February, and increased by 0.4 per cent compared to a year ago, reflecting in part investment-related activities. Total M2 and M3 both edged up by 0.1 per cent in February, and expanded by 2.3 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively from a year earlier.
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.
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