SATURDAY, AUGUST 1, 1981
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MONEY SUPPLY AND FINANCIAL STATISTICS FOR JUNE
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THE MONEY SUPPLY AND FINANCIAL STATISTICS FOR JUNE 1981 ARE PUBLISHED TODAY. TOTAL LOANS AND ADVANCES IN HONG KONG INCREASED IN JUNE BY MUCH LESS IN ABSOLUTE TERMS THAN IN MAY, BUT AN INFLOW OF FUNDS INTO THE HONG KONG MONETARY SECTOR CAUSED THE MONEY SUPPLY (M3) TO GROW IN JUNE FASTER THAN IN MAY.
A SIGNIFICANT PROPORTION OF NEW LENDING BY BANKS DURING THE MONTH WAS FINANCED BY THEIR INCREASED BORROWINGS FROM DEPOSIT- TAKING COMPANIES.
THE GROWTH IN THE MONEY SUPPLY ALSO REFLECTED TWO SPECIAL FACTORS. FIRST IS THE USUAL HALF-YEARLY CREDITING OF INTEREST ON SAVINGS DEPOSITS WITH BANKS. SECOND IS THE EFFORT OF MANY DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES TO BUILD UP THE VOLUME OF THEIR SHORT-TERM DEPOSITS IN ANTICIPATION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION, FROM JULY 1, 1981 OF CHANGES IN THE BANKING AND THE DEPOSIT- TAKING COMPANIES ORDINANCES.
THE DETAILED FIGURES FOR JUNE 1981, AND COMPARISONS WITH PREVIOUS MONTHS AND SOME FIGURES FROM THE QUARTERLY ANALYSIS OF LOANS AND ADVANCES IN HONG KONG BY SECTOR ARE SET OUT IN TWO TABLES WHICH ARE BOXED SEPARATELY.
THE GOVERNMENT HOPES TO BEGIN LATER IN AUGUST TO PUBLISH ON A REGULAR BASIS THE STATISTICS WHICH ARE NOW BEING COLLECTED UNDER THE MONETARY STATISTICS ORDINANCE, AND WHICH ARE DESIGNED TO GIVE A MORE ACCURATE READING OF THE MONETARY SITUATION THAN THE STATISTICS HITHERTO AVAILABLE.
MONEY SUPPLY
THE MONEY SUPPLY ON THE NARROWEST DEFINITION, M1 (NOTES AND COINS WITH THE PUBLIC, PLUS DEMAND DEPOSITS OTHER THAN FROM BANKS AND DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES, WITH LICENSED BANKS) FELL BY 4.0 PER CENT IN JUNE, AFTER RISING BY 7.8 PER CENT IN MAY, WITH THE FALL REFLECTING A REDUCTION OF 6.5 PER CENT IN DEMAND DEPOSITS WITH BANKS.
M2 (M1 PLUS SAVINGS AND TIME DEPOSITS, OTHER THAN FROM BANKS AND DTCS, WITH LICENSED BANKS) INCREASED BY 4.3 PER CENT IN JUNE, WELL UP FROM A 0.9 PER CENT RISE IN MAY. THE PRINCIPAL FACTOR HERE WAS A 10.8 PER CENT INCREASE IN SAVINGS DEPOSITS, REFLECTING THE CREDITING OF HALF-YEARLY INTEREST TO DEPOSITORS.
/M3 (M2