The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
According to statistics published today (April 30) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions increased by 0.2 per cent in March 2024. Among the total, Hong Kong dollar deposits increased by 0.7 per cent while foreign currency deposits decreased by 0.2 per cent in March. In the first quarter of 2024, total deposits decreased by 0.2 per cent while Hong Kong dollar deposits increased by 0.1 per cent. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong decreased by 2.0 per cent in March to RMB944.7 billion at the end of March. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB1,248.4 billion in March, compared with RMB1,064.4 billion in February. 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 0.8 per cent in March, while decreased by 1.0 per cent in the first quarter of 2024. Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) and loans for use outside Hong Kong increased by 0.8 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively in March. The Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio decreased to 83.2 per cent at the end of March from 83.7 per cent at the end of February, as Hong Kong dollar deposits increased while Hong Kong dollar loans remained virtually unchanged.
For the first quarter of 2024 as a whole, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) decreased by 1.2 per cent after declining by 0.1 per cent in the previous quarter. Analysed by economic use, the decrease in loans during the first quarter was mainly led by loans to financial concerns and loans to wholesale and retail trade sector.
Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both increased by 0.6 per cent in March while both decreased by 0.4 per cent when compared to a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted Hong Kong dollar M1 decreased by 1.0 per cent in March and decreased by 11.4 per cent compared to a year ago, reflecting in part investment-related activities. Total M2 and total M3 both increased by 0.2 per cent in March. Compared to a year earlier, total M2 and total M3 both increased by 3.4 per cent.
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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