TUESDAY, JULY 31, 1979
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IN THE THREE MONTHS ENDING JUNE, HOWEVER, M2 ROSE BY 5.4 PER CENT, AS COMPARED WITH THE INCREASE OF 4.6 PER CENT IN THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF THE YEAR.
M3 (M2 PLUS DEPOSITS AT DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES, LESS DEPOSITS HELD BY THOSE COMPANIES WITH BANKS IN HONG KONG, AND LESS THEIR HOLDINGS OF NOTES AND COIN) ROSE IN JUNE BY $1,728 MILLION (2.1 PER CENT) TO $85,356 MILLION.
THIS WAS 10.7 PER CENT ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE END OF DECEMBER 1978 (THE FIRST MONTH FOR WHICH THIS DEFINITION OF THE HONEY SUPPLY CAN BE CALCULATED) AND 5.4 PER CENT ABOVE THE END-MARCH 1979 LEVEL.
BANKING STATISTICS
BANK LOANS AND ADVANCES IN HONG KONG ROSE BY $1,718 MILLION (2.8 PER CENT) IN JUNE TO $62,358 MILLION, 46.2 PER CENT ABOVE THE LEVEL AT THE END OF JUNE 1978. IN THE THREE MONTHS TO THE END OF JUNE BANK LOANS ROSE BY 7.6 PER CENT, COMPARED WITH THE RISE OF 9.7 PER CENT IN THE FIRST QUARTER.
BANKS' NET IDENTIFIABLE FOREIGN ASSETS ROSE IN JUNE BY $766 MILLION TO $17,370 MILLION, LARGELY REFLECTING A RISE OF $529 MILLION IN LOANS ABROAD.
THE AVERAGE LIQUIDITY OF THE BANKING SYSTEM ROSE FROM 48.2 PER CENT TO 48.8 PER CENT, WHILE THE RATIO OF LOANS AND ADVANCES IN HONG KONG TO DEPOSITS FELL SLIGHTLY, FROM 84.2 PER CENT TO 84.1 PER CENT.
TWO MORE RECENTLY-LICENSED BANKS BEGAN TO OPERATE DURING JUNE, BRINGING THE NUMBER OF REPORTING BANKS TO 101.
DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES STATISTICS
DEPOSITS AT THE 248 REGISTERED DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES ROSE IN JUNE BY $891 MILLION (5.2 PER CENT) TO $17,855 MILLION, WHILE THEIR LOANS AND ADVANCES IN HONG KONG ROSE BY $341 MILLION (3.2 PER CENT) TO $10,945 MILLION.
LENDING IN HONG KONG BY BANKS AND DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES TOGETHER (AFTER ALLOWING FOR BANK LENDING TO DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES) ROSE IN JUNE BY $1,091 MILLION (1.7 PER CENT) TO $64,229 MILLION, WHICH WAS 13.5 PER CENT ABOVE THE END-DECEMBER 1978 LEVEL.
IN THE THREE MONTHS TO JUNE THEIR COMBINED LENDING ROSE BY 5.6 PER CENT, A SHARP REDUCTION ON THE INCREASE IN THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF THE YEAR OF 7.5 PER CENT.
/ANALYSIS OF