The Government announced today (December 31) the quarterly land sale programme for the fourth quarter of 2019-20, i.e. January to March 2020.

     "In the fourth quarter of 2019-20, the Government will sell by tender three residential sites, two in Mong Kok and one on Anderson Road in Kwun Tong. The total estimated flat yield is about 1 850 units," the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, said.

     The Anderson Road site is the largest amongst these sites, estimated to provide some 1 720 flats, including 1 000 Starter Homes units for sale at below-market prices to eligible applicants.

     In this quarter, the Urban Renewal Authority also plans to tender its project at the junction of Tonkin Street and Fuk Wing Street in Sham Shui Po, estimated to provide about 180 flats.

     "The total private housing land supply in the fourth quarter of 2019-20 is estimated to be about 2 030 flats. Together with the land supply in the first three quarters, the private housing land supply from all sources in this financial year, as of today, has reached almost 90 per cent of our annual target," Mr Wong said.

     The land supply from private development and redevelopment projects is capable of providing some 2 600 flats so far, lower than 3 860 flats as estimated at the beginning of this year. Mr Wong remarked that whether the annual land supply target would be achieved in the end would depend on whether there are additional private development projects in the remaining months of this financial year.

     The supply of first-hand private residential units would continue to stand at a relatively high level. Based on the latest projection as at end-September 2019, there would be some 93 000 units available for the coming three to four years.

     On land supply for economic uses, Mr Wong said that the Government will sell by tender in the fourth quarter one commercial site in Kai Tak, capable of providing about 105 000 square metres of gross floor area. The Government will require the successful bidder of this Kai Tak commercial site to construct welfare facilities (such as elderly and child services) of an area of about 10 900 sq m, or some 10 per cent of the gross floor area of the site.

     "Including the two commercial sites sold earlier this year, which are located in Kai Tak and atop the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, the three commercial sites are capable of providing about 431 000 sq m of gross floor area in this financial year," Mr Wong said.

     He added that the Government would continue to increase land supply through a multi-pronged approach and maintain a sustained and steady land supply to meet the community's needs for housing, economic and social development.

     A list of the sites to be tendered in January to March 2020 is attached. The actual tender timetable will be drawn up taking into account the progress of the necessary preparatory work. The Lands Department will separately announce the detailed land sale arrangements before individual sites are tendered.

     The Government announced today (December 31) its financial results for the eight months ended November 30, 2019.

     Expenditure for the period April to November 2019 amounted to HK$369.7 billion and revenue HK$218.2 billion, resulting in a cumulative year-to-date deficit of HK$145.2 billion after receipt of net proceeds of HK$7.8 billion from issuance of green bonds under the Government Green Bond Programme (Green Bond) and repayment of institutional notes of HK$1.5 billion.

     A government spokesperson said that the cumulative year-to-date deficit for the period was mainly due to the fact that some major types of revenue including salaries and profits taxes are mostly received towards the end of a financial year. The revised estimates for the current financial year will be published along with the 2020-21 Budget on February 26, 2020.

     The fiscal reserves stood at HK$1,025.7 billion as at November 30, 2019.

     Detailed figures are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

TABLE 1. CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNT (Note 1)
 

Government Debts as at November 30, 2019 (Note 3)
    HK$7,828 million
Debts Guaranteed by Government as at November 30, 2019 (Note 4)
    HK$28,241 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 November 30, 2019 was HK$134,685 million.

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

3. These were the green bonds of US$1,000 million (equivalent to HK$7,828 million as at November 30, 2019) which were denominated in US dollars with maturity in May 2024. They do not include the outstanding bonds with nominal value of HK$100,141 million and alternative bonds with nominal value of US$2,000 million (equivalent to HK$15,656 million as at November 30, 2019) 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$8,841 million, which may be redeemed before maturity upon request from bond holders), bonds with nominal value of HK$31,769 million and alternative bonds with nominal value of US$1,000 million (equivalent to HK$7,828 million as at November 30, 2019) will mature within the period from December 2019 to November 2020 and the rest within the period from December 2020 to March 2034.

4. Includes guarantees provided under the SME Loan Guarantee Scheme launched in 2001, the Special Loan Guarantee Scheme launched in 2008, the Special Concessionary Measures under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme launched in 2012, and a commercial loan of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation.

5. Includes HK$219,730 million being the balance of the Land Fund held in the name of "Future Fund" as from January 1, 2016, for long-term investments initially up to December 31, 2025. As from July 1, 2016, 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:

     According to statistics published today (December 31) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorised institutions grew by 0.4 per cent in November 2019 as compared to October. Among the total, Hong Kong dollar deposits edged down by 0.1 per cent; overall foreign-currency deposits increased by 1.0 per cent. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong edged up by 0.2 per cent to RMB637.8 billion at the end of November. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB444.5 billion in November, compared with RMB429.4 billion in October.
 
     Total loans and advances increased by 0.2 per cent in November. Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) increased by 0.1 per cent and loans for use outside Hong Kong went up by 0.3 per cent from a month ago (Note). The Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio declined to 90.0 per cent at the end of November from 90.7 per cent at the end of October, as Hong Kong dollar deposits decreased at a slower pace than Hong Kong dollar loans.
 
     Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both remained virtually unchanged in November, and rose by 3.2 per cent and 3.1 per cent respectively compared to a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted Hong Kong dollar M1 increased by 0.6 per cent in November, but declined by 2.5 per cent compared to a year ago, reflecting in part investment-related activities. Total M2 and M3 both increased by 0.6 per cent in November, and expanded by 4.4 per cent and 4.3 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.

Note: The December 2018 figures for loans for use in/outside Hong Kong have been restated to reflect authorised institutions' reclassification of working capital loans. The reported month-on-month and quarter-on-quarter growth rates are calculated based on the reclassified loan data. As reclassified loan data before December 2018 are not available, year-on-year growth rates of loans for use in/outside Hong Kong (including their sub-components) as shown in Table 1H of the Annex are calculated based on the data without such reclassification.

     The following five reports presenting the key statistics on the business performance and operating characteristics of various major industry sectors in 2018 have been published by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD):

(i) Key Statistics on Business Performance and Operating Characteristics of the Industrial Sector in 2018;
(ii) Key Statistics on Business Performance and Operating Characteristics of the Building, Construction and Real Estate Sectors in 2018;
(iii) Key Statistics on Business Performance and Operating Characteristics of the Import/Export, Wholesale and Retail Trades, and Accommodation and Food Services Sectors in 2018;
(iv) Key Statistics on Business Performance and Operating Characteristics of the Transportation, Storage and Courier Services Sector in 2018; and
(v) Key Statistics on Business Performance and Operating Characteristics of the Information and Communications, Financing and Insurance, Professional and Business Services Sectors in 2018.

     The key statistics presented in these reports were compiled from the results of the 2018 Annual Survey of Economic Activities conducted by the C&SD. They contain a wide range of statistics reflecting the business performance and operating characteristics of various major industry sectors in 2018, mainly including:

* number of establishments;
* number of persons engaged;
* value of sales of goods, business receipts and other income;
* compensation of employees;
* operating expenses;
* gross surplus;
* value added; and
* gross additions to fixed assets.

     Apart from statistics relating to 2018, summary statistics for 2016 and 2017 are also contained in these reports to facilitate reference and comparison.

     The statistics in the aforementioned reports are complementary to those relatively timely but less detailed statistics on the current situation of various major industry sectors as provided by the relevant quarterly or monthly surveys. They together constitute a comprehensive series of sectoral economic statistics to facilitate readers in grasping the salient features and developments of various major sectors.

     Users can download these reports free of charge from the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp70.jsp).

     Enquiries regarding the reports can be directed to the relevant Sections of the C&SD shown in the attached table.

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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (December 31) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$4,142.8 billion as at November 30, 2019, HK$45.2 billion lower than that at the end of October 2019. Foreign currency assets decreased by HK$40.9 billion and Hong Kong dollar assets decreased by HK$4.3 billion.
 
     The decline in foreign currency assets was mainly due to the settlement of foreign exchange-related contracts, which was partly offset by an increase in unsettled purchases of securities. The decline in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to a decrease in market value of Hong Kong equities.
 
     The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of November 2019 was HK$1,653.8 billion, increased by HK$7.6 billion, or 0.5 per cent, from the end of October 2019. The rise was mainly due to an increase in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness.
 
     The amount of Backing Assets increased by HK$4.7 billion, or 0.3 per cent, to HK$1,847.3 billion. The increase was mainly attributable to the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness. The backing ratio decreased from 111.92 per cent at the end of October 2019 to 111.70 per cent at the end of November 2019.
 
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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 December 2019, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows: