FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 1983
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TOTAL MONEY SUPPLY
TOTAL M1 FELL BY ONE PER CENT IN APRIL, FOLLOWING A FALL OF 3.2 PER CENT IN MARCH. TOTAL M2 INCREASED MARGINALLY, BY 0.1 PER CENT FOLLOWING AN INCREASE OF 1.7 PER CENT IN MARCH. TOTAL M3 WAS LITTLE CHANGED, FOLLOWING AN INCREASE OF 1.5 PER CENT IN MARCH. IN THREE MONTHS TO APRIL, TOTAL M1 FELL BY 2.2 PER CENT,, TOTAL M2 AND TOTAL M3 GREW BY 1.9 PER CENT AND 1.4 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY. OVER THE TWELVE MONTHS, THE CORRESPONDING GROWTH RATES WERE 10.8 PER CENT, 52.1 PER CENT AND 31.7 PER CENT.
DEPOSITS
HONG KONG DOLLAR DEPOSITS FELL BY 0.7 PER CENT IN APRIL, FOLLOWING A FALL OF 1.8 PER CENT IN MARCH, FOREIGN CURRENCY DEPOSITS INCREASED BY 1.7 PER CENT, FOLLOWING AN INCREASE OF 5.7 PER CENT IN MARCH. IN THE THREE MONTHS TO APRIL, HONG KONG DOLLAR DEPOSITS FELL BY 3.7 PER CENT WHILE FOREIGN CURRENCY DEPOSITS INCREASED BY 7.9 PER CENT,
OVER THE TWELVE MONTHS, HONG KONG DOLLAR DEPOSITS FELL BY 0.6 PER CENT ($0.9 BILLION) WHILE FOREIGN CURRENCY DEPOSITS INCREASED BY 116.8 PER CENT ($60 BILLION).
MUCH OF THIS INCREASE IN FOREIGN CURRENCY DEPOSITS REPRESENTS AN ADDITION TO THE TOTAL DEPOSIT BASE. BUT SOME REFLECTS A SHIFT AWAY FROM HONG KONG DOLLAR DEPOSITS, PART OF WHICH REFLECTS, IN TURN, THE INCREASING POPULARITY OF SO-CALLED +SWAP+ DEPOSITS. THESE INVOLVE CUSTOMERS BUYING SPOT FOREIGN CURRENCY AND PLACING IT ON DEPOSIT WITH FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME ENTERING INTO A CONTRACT TO SELL FORWARD SUCH FOREIGN CURRENCY BACK TO THE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ON THE MATURITY OF THE DEPOSIT.
THESE +SWAPS+ HINDER INTERPRETATION OF THE MONETARY STATISTICS, SINCE FOR CERTAIN ANALYTICAL PURPOSES THEY SHOULD BE REGARDED AS HONG KONG DOLLAR DEPOSITS: FOR EXAMPLE, A SWAP TRANSACTION DOES NOT ITSELF EXERT PRESSURE ON THE EXCHANGE RATE IN THE WAY THAT AN OUTRIGHT FOREIGN EXCHANGE TRANSACTION MAY. HOWEVER, NO STATISTICS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE VOLUME OF SWAP DEPOSITS.
LOANS AND ADVANCES
TOTAL LOANS AND ADVANCES EXTENDED BY BANKS AND DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES ROSE BY 1.3 PER CENT IN APRIL, COMPARED WITH AN INCREASE OF 2.1 PER CENT IN MARCH. MUCH OF THE INCREASE IS PROBABLY EXPLAINED BY THE VALUATION EFFECT OF THE WEAKER HONG KONG DOLLAR ON FOREIGN CURRENCY LOANS, WHICH RECORDED A RISE OF 2.7 PER CENT IN APRIL, WHILE THE HONG KONG DOLLAR COMPONENT ROSE BY ONLY 0.2 PER CENT.
IN THE THREE MONTHS TO APRIL. TOTAL LOANS AND ADVANCES ROSE BY 4.2 PER CENT AND OVER THE TWELVE MONTHS BY 24.8 PER CENT.
/LOANS TO