The Government announced today (February 28) its financial results for the 10 months ended January 31, 2022.
 
     There was a surplus of HK$47.4 billion in the month of January, thereby bringing a cumulative year-to-date surplus of HK$97.5 billion after receipt of net proceeds of HK$29.1 billion from issuance of green bonds under the Government Green Bond Programme (Green Bond). Expenditure for the 10-month period amounted to HK$541.5 billion and revenue HK$609.9 billion.
 
     The fiscal reserves stood at HK$1,025.3 billion as at January 31, 2022.
 
     A Government spokesperson said that the cumulative year-to-date surplus for the period was mainly due to the receipt of land premium, profits tax and stamp duties. Taking into account the forecast revenue and expenditure for the remaining two months, the surplus for the 2021-22 financial year is expected to be HK$18.9 billion and the fiscal reserves are estimated to be HK$946.7 billion as at the end of March 2022.
 
     Detailed figures are shown in Tables 1 and 2.
 
TABLE 1. CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNT (Note 1)
 

 
Government Debts as at January 31, 2022 (Note 3)
    HK$56,401 million
Debts Guaranteed by Government as at January 31, 2022 (Note 4)
    HK$118,524.1 million

TABLE 2. FISCAL RESERVES
 

 
Notes:

1. This Account consolidates the General Revenue Account and the following eight Funds: Capital Works Reserve Fund, Capital Investment Fund, Civil Service Pension Reserve Fund, Disaster Relief Fund, Innovation and Technology Fund, Land Fund, Loan Fund and Lotteries Fund. It excludes the Bond Fund, the balance of which is not part of the fiscal reserves. The Bond Fund balance as at January 31, 2022, was HK$209,191 million.

2. Includes transactions with the Exchange Fund and resident banks.

3. These were the Green Bonds (equivalent to HK$56,401 million as at January 31, 2022) issued under the Government Green Bond Programme. They were denominated in US dollars (US$4,500 million with maturity from May 2024 to February 2051), euros (1,750 million euros with maturity from November 2026 to November 2041) and Renminbi (RMB5,000 million with maturity from November 2024 to November 2026). They do not include the outstanding bonds with nominal value of HK$169,647 million and alternative bonds with nominal value of US$1,000 million (equivalent to HK$7,794 million as at January 31, 2022) issued under the Government Bond Programme (with proceeds credited to the Bond Fund). Of these bonds under the Government Bond Programme (including Silver Bonds with nominal value of HK$47,647 million, which may be redeemed before maturity upon request from bond holders), bonds with nominal value of HK$30,714 million will mature within the period from February 2022 to January 2023 and the rest within the period from February 2023 to March 2036.

4. Includes guarantees provided under the SME Loan Guarantee Scheme launched in 2001, the Special Loan Guarantee Scheme launched in 2008, the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme launched in 2012 and a commercial loan of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation.
 
5. Includes HK$232,367 million, being the balance of the Land Fund held in the name of "Future Fund", for long-term investments initially up to December 31, 2025. The Future Fund also includes HK$4,800 million, being one-third of the actual surplus in 2015-16 as top-up.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (February 28) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$4,662.0 billion as at January 31, 2022, HK$84.2 billion higher than that at the end of December 2021. Hong Kong dollar assets increased by HK$95.2 billion while foreign currency assets decreased by HK$11.0 billion.
      
     The rise in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to an increase in Exchange Fund Bills and Notes issued but not yet settled and additional placements from Fiscal Reserves. The decline in foreign currency assets was mainly due to the mark-to-market revaluation on investments and a decrease in the month-end balances of unsettled purchase of securities, which were partly offset by the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness.
      
     The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of January 2022 was HK$2,160.7 billion, increased by HK$29.2 billion, or 1.4 per cent, from the end of December 2021. The rise was mainly due to an increase in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness, which reflected the seasonal demand for banknotes around Lunar New Year.
      
     The amount of Backing Assets increased by HK$23.6 billion, or 1.0 per cent, to HK$2,373.4 billion. The increase was mainly attributable to the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness, which was partly offset by the mark-to-market revaluation on investments. The backing ratio decreased from 110.24 per cent at the end of December 2021 to 109.84 per cent at the end of January 2022.
 
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     At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund's data are issued by the HKMA each month. Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund's Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA's policy of maintaining a high level of transparency. For the month of February 2022, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
 

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released today (February 28) the analytical data on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's foreign currency reserves and foreign currency liquidity as at the end of January 2022 (Annex). These data are published monthly in the Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS).

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     At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund's data are issued by the HKMA each month. Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's SDDS. The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund's Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA's policy of maintaining a high level of transparency. For the month of February 2022, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
 

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     According to statistics published today (February 28) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions increased by 2.6 per cent in January 2022. Among the total, Hong Kong dollar deposits and foreign currency deposits grew by 1.3 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong increased by 18.2 per cent, amounting to RMB1,095.9 billion at the end of January, largely driven by inflows from corporations. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB699.4 billion in January, compared with RMB708.5 billion in December 2021. 
      
     Total loans and advances increased by 0.8 per cent in January. Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) and loans for use outside Hong Kong increased by 0.6 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively. The Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio decreased to 85.7 per cent at the end of January from 86.7 per cent at the end of December 2021, as Hong Kong dollar deposits increased at a faster pace than Hong Kong dollar loans.
      
     Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both grew by 1.4 per cent in January, but both decreased by 12.2 per cent compared to a year ago. Large-scale IPO activities at the end of January 2021 led to an increase in deposits that resulted in a high base effect on the year-on-year growth of money supply. Excluding the deposits created by the IPO-related loans, Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 in January both decreased by 2.0 per cent compared to a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted Hong Kong dollar M1 rose by 1.7 per cent in January, and increased by 1.2 per cent compared to a year ago, reflecting in part investment-related activities. Total M2 and M3 both rose by 2.5 per cent in January, but both decreased by 2.0 per cent from a year earlier. Excluding the deposits created by the IPO-related loans, total M2 and M3 both picked up by 3.9 per cent 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.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced the results of the residential mortgage survey for January 2022.
      
     The number of mortgage applications in January 2022 decreased month-on-month by 2.9 per cent to 10 501.  
      
     Mortgage loans approved in January 2022 decreased by 4.7 per cent compared with December 2021 to HK$42.2 billion. Among these, mortgage loans financing primary market transactions decreased by 21.1 per cent to HK$7 billion and those financing secondary market transactions decreased by 2.9 per cent to HK$24 billion. Mortgage loans for refinancing increased by 4.7 per cent to HK$11.3 billion. 
      
     Mortgage loans drawn down during January 2022 decreased by 13.7 per cent compared with December 2021 to HK$31.3 billion. 
      
     The ratio of new mortgage loans priced with reference to HIBOR decreased from 97.2 per cent in December 2021 to 96.5 per cent in January 2022. The ratio of new mortgage loans priced with reference to best lending rates increased from 1.2 per cent in December 2021 to 1.6 per cent in January 2022.
      
     The outstanding value of mortgage loans increased month-on-month by 0.6 per cent to HK$1,746.8 billion at end-January 2022. 
      
     The mortgage delinquency ratio decreased slightly to 0.03 per cent and the rescheduled loan ratio remained unchanged at nearly 0 per cent.