The following is the unedited transcript of the news release from Hong Kong Monetary Authority, HK


According to statistics published today (Friday) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions increased by 0.3% in April 2008. Hong Kong dollar deposits rose by 0.3%, as the expansion in savings deposits exceeded the decreases in demand and time deposits. Foreign currency deposits grew by 0.2%. In particular, renminbi deposits increased by 33.0% to RMB76.6 billion yuan at the end of April, accounting for around 3.1% of foreign currency deposits.

Total loans and advances rose by 1.6% in April. Loans for use in Hong Kong expanded by 1.6% and loans for use outside Hong Kong grew by 1.9%. With faster growth in loans relative to deposits, the Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio picked up further to 77.4% at the end of April, compared with 76.5% at the end of March.

Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong dollar M1 decreased by 0.1% in April but rose by 14.6% year on year. Unadjusted Hong Kong dollar M3 expanded by 0.1% during the month and grew by 10.5% from a year earlier.


Available at:

http://www.info.gov.hk/hkma/eng/press/press_f.htm