The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) today (June 29) published the June 2018 issue of its Quarterly Bulletin. This issue of Quarterly Bulletin carries a regular article on the banking environment.
The Quarterly Bulletin can be viewed on and downloaded from the HKMA website.
A man was fined $7,000 at the Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts today (June 29) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
The courts heard that in August last year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), the Home Affairs Department, inspected a suspected unlicensed guesthouse on Castle Peak Road in Sham Tseng. During the inspection, the OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented a room in the guesthouse on a daily basis.
According to the OLA's records, the guesthouse did not possess a licence under the Ordinance on the day of inspection. The man responsible for managing the premises was charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance.
A department spokesman stressed that operating or managing an unlicensed guesthouse is a criminal offence and will lead to a criminal record. Upon conviction, the offender is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and two years' imprisonment.
The spokesman appealed to anyone with information about suspected unlicensed guesthouses to report it to the OLA through the hotline (Tel: 2881 7498), by email (hadlaenq@had.gov.hk), by fax (2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the OLA website (www.hadla.gov.hk), or through the mobile application "Hong Kong Licensed Hotels and Guesthouses".
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
According to statistics published today (June 29) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorised institutions fell by 2.5% in May 2018. Hong Kong-dollar deposits dropped by 4.2% during the month, as the decline in demand and savings deposits exceeded the increase in time deposits. Overall foreign-currency deposits decreased by 0.6% in May. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong increased by 0.6% to RMB600.9 billion at the end of May. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB341.6 billion in May, compared with RMB326.4 billion in April.
Total loans and advances decreased by 2.5% in May. Loan growth in May would have edged up by 0.4% if the initial public offering (IPO) loans (around HK$284 billion) at end-April were excluded. Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) declined by 3.7% from a month ago while loans for use outside Hong Kong increased by 0.6%. The Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio edged down to 83.9% at the end of May from 84.1% at the end of April, as Hong Kong-dollar loans decreased at a faster pace than Hong Kong-dollar deposits.
Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 decreased by 1.7% in May but expanded by 12.0% year on year. Seasonally unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 declined by 3.9% during the month but rose by 7.8% from a year earlier.
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced the results of the residential mortgage survey for May 2018.
The number of mortgage applications in May decreased month-on-month by 2.7% to 14 491.
Mortgage loans approved in May increased by 14.4% compared with April to HK$42.6 billion. Among these, mortgage loans financing primary market transactions decreased by 2.1% to HK$6.4 billion and those financing secondary market transactions increased by 16.6% to HK$24.2 billion. Mortgage loans for refinancing increased by 20.4% to HK$12.1 billion.
Mortgage loans drawn down during May increased by 17.6% compared with April to HK$31 billion.
The ratio of new mortgage loans priced with reference to HIBOR increased from 46.3% in April to 67.1% in May. The ratio of new mortgage loans priced at fixed rates decreased from 49.3% in April to 28.5% in May.
The outstanding value of mortgage loans increased month-on-month by 0.8% to HK$1,246.3 billion at end-May.
The mortgage delinquency ratio remained unchanged at 0.02% and the rescheduled loan ratio remained unchanged at nearly 0%.
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (June 29) that the Financial Secretary, on the advice of the Governance Sub-Committee of the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee, has approved the appointment of Mr Colin Pou as the Executive Director (Financial Infrastructure) with effect from October 29, 2018. Mr Pou will take over from Mr Li Shu-pui, who will leave the HKMA on resignation for personal reason with effect from the same date.
The Executive Director (Financial Infrastructure) is responsible for developing the financial market infrastructure, and for enhancing the fintech ecosystem of Hong Kong. He will also be in charge of the Currency and Settlement Division. Mr Pou's CV is attached.
Commenting on Mr Li's departure, the Chief Executive of the HKMA, Mr Norman Chan, said, "We are sorry to lose Mr Li, who has been with the HKMA for 17 years and has made numerous contributions to the work of the HKMA. I wish him the very best in his future endeavours."