The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
According to statistics published today (January 28) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions increased by 0.9 per cent in December 2024. Among the total, Hong Kong dollar deposits and foreign currency deposits both increased by 0.9 per cent in December. For 2024 as a whole, total deposits and Hong Kong dollar deposits grew by 7.1 per cent and 2.8 per cent respectively. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong decreased by 6.6 per cent in December to RMB926.6 billion at the end of December, mainly reflecting fund flows of corporates. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB1,401.6 billion in December, compared with RMB1,333.7 billion in November. It should be noted that changes in deposits are affected by a wide range of factors, such as interest rate movements and fund-raising activities. It is therefore more appropriate to observe the longer-term trends, and not to over-generalise fluctuations in a single month.
Total loans and advances increased by 0.3 per cent in December, while decreased by 2.8 per cent for 2024 as a whole. Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) increased by 0.8 per cent, while loans for use outside Hong Kong decreased by 1.3 per cent in December. The Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio decreased to 77.1 per cent at the end of December from 78.0 per cent at the end of November, as Hong Kong dollar deposits increased while Hong Kong dollar loans decreased.
For the fourth quarter of 2024 as a whole, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) decreased by 0.1 per cent after decreasing by 0.8 per cent in the previous quarter. Analysed by economic use, loans for financial concerns increased, while loans to building, construction, property development and investment decreased.
Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both increased by 0.8 per cent in December, and increased by 2.7 per cent and 2.8 per cent respectively when compared to a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted Hong Kong dollar M1 increased by 1.0 per cent in December and increased by 1.3 per cent compared to a year ago, reflecting in part investment-related activities. Total M2 and total M3 increased by 0.9 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively in December. Compared to a year earlier, total M2 and total M3 increased by 7.3 per cent and 7.4 per cent 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.
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