TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 1984
HK DOLLAR DEPOSITS CONTINUE GROWTH
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FOR THE FOURTH CONSECUTIVE MONTH FOLLOWING THE STABILISATION OF THE EXCHANGE RATE, HONG KONG DOLLAR DEPOSITS RECORDED SUBSTANTIAL GROWTH IN JANUARY, MONETARY STATISTICS SHOW.
PART OF THE GROWTH IN JANUARY REFLECTED THE CREDITING OF LUNAR NEW YEAR BONUSES AND ADVANCE PAYMENT OF SALARIES AT THE END OF THE MONTH. FOREIGN CURRENCY DEPOSITS RECORDED ONLY RELATIVELY MODEST GROWTH, A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN EXPLAINED.
THE MONEY SUPPLY ON ALL DEFINITIONS INCREASED DURING THE MONTH. REFLECTING RECENT TRENDS IN THE GROWTH OF DEPOSITS, INCREASES IN THE HONG KONG DOLLAR COMPONENTS WERE MORE RAPID THAN THOSE OF THE FOREIGN CURRENCY COMPONENTS.
LOANS TO FINANCE HONG KONG'S VISIBLE TRADE FELL, WHILE LOANS FOR USE IN HONG KONG INCREASED ONLY MARGINALLY.
DEPOSITS
HONG KONG DOLLAR DEPOSITS ROSE STRONGLY BY 5.1 PER CENT IN JANUARY FOLLOWING AN INCREASE OF 4.0 PER CENT IN DECEMBER 1983.
IN THR THREE MONTHS TO JANUARY, THESE INCREASED BY 16.2 PER CENT, AND OVER THE TWELVE MONTHS TO JANUARY THE INCREASE WAS 17.1 PER CENT. FOREIGN CURRENCY DEPOSITS GREW BY 0.9 PER CENT
IN JANUARY, LESS THAN THE 2.4 PER CENT RISE IN DECEMBER. IN THE THREE MONTHS TO JANUARY, THESE INCREASED BY 2.1 PER CENT, WHILE THE INCREASE OVER THE TWELVE MONTHS WAS 35.8 PER CENT.
THESE FIGURES SHOW CLEARLY A RETURN OF CONFIDENCE TO THE HONG KONG DOLLAR. THE ABOLITION OF INTEREST WITHHOLDING TAX ON HONG KONG DOLLAR DEPOSITS WITH FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS WAS ALSO A FACTOR, THE SPOKESMAN SAID.
HONG KONG DOLLAR MONEY SUPPLY
HONG KONG DOLLAR MONEY SUPPLY ON ALL DEFINITIONS INCREASED IN JANUARY. HK$M1 ROSE BY A RAPID 17.8 PER CENT, FOLLOWING AN INCREASE OF 2.2 PER CENT IN DECEMBER. THIS REFLECTED A SHARP INCREASE IN THE PUBLIC'S HOLDING OF HONG KONG DOLLAR CASH ON APPROACHING LUNAR NEW YEAR. HK$M2 AND HK$M3 ROSE BY 7.6 PER CENT AND 6.8 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY, FASTER THAN THE CORRESPONDING INCREASES IN DECEMBER, OF 3.6 PER CENT AND 4.0 PER CENT.
IN THE THREE MONTHS TO JANUARY, HK$M1 ROSE BY 19.8 PER CENT, HK$M2 BY 16.7 PER CENT AND HK$M3 BY 17.2 PER CENT. OVER THE TWELVE MONTHS, THE CORRESPONDING GROWTH RATES WERE 21.8 PER CENT, 19.9 PER CENT AND 18.2 PER CENT.
/TOTAL MONEY