XN000022-1979-05-04 — Page 7

FRIDAY, MAY 4, 1979

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THIS TREND IS ALSO APPARENT FROM THE COMPARISON OF THE

AVERAGE LEVEL OF M2 IN JANUARY TO MARCH 1979 WITH THE SAME THREE MONTHS OF 1978, WHICH SHOWS AN INCREASE OF 25 PER CENT: THIS COMPARISON HAS NOW FALLEN EVERY MONTH FROM ITS PEAK OF 28.7 PER CENT

IN AUGUST/OCTOBER 1978.

SIMILARLY M1 IN JANUARY TO MARCH 1979 WAS 22.6 PER CENT

ABOVE THE SAME THREE MONTHS OF 1978: THIS COMPARISON IS A LONG WAY BELOW ITS AUGUST/OCTOBER 1978 PEAK OF 27.3 PER CENT, THOUGH STILL ABOVE THE NOVEMBER 1978/JANUARY 1979 LOW POINT OF 22.2 PER CENT.

BANK ING STATISTICS

BANK LOANS AND ADVANCES IN HONG KONG ROSE IN MARCH 1979 BY $1,405 MILLION (2.5 PER CENT) TO $57,955 MILLION, 45.5 PER CENT ABOVE MARCH 1978.

IN THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF THIS YEAR BANK LENDING IN HONG KONG HAS RISEN BY $5,141 MILLION (9.7 PER CENT), WHICH IS EQUIVALENT TO AN ANNUAL RATE OF 45 PER CENT.

THE THREE-MONTH MOVING AVERAGE OF BANK LOANS AND ADVANCES IN JANUARY TO MARCH 1979 WAS 45.9 PER CENT ABOVE THE SAME PERIOD OF 1978 THIS COMPARISON HAS BEEN ACCELERATING EVERY MONTH SINCE OCTOBER 1977.

THE NET IDENTIFIABLE FOREIGN ASSETS OF THE BANKS ROSE BY $1,442 MILLION TO $16,144 MILLION, WITH THE PRINCIPAL FACTOR BEING A RISE OF $883 MILLION TO $18,247 MILLION IN LOANS ABROAD. THE NET LIABILITY TO BANKS ABROAD WAS ALMOST UNCHANGED.

THE AVERAGE LIQUIDITY OF THE BANKS DURING MARCH WAS LITTLE CHANGED AT 45.9 PER CENT (45.6 PER CENT). THE RATIO OF LOANS AND ADVANCES IN HONG KONG TO DEPOSITS ROSE FROM 81.7 PER CENT TO 82.8 PER CENT, TWO MORE OF THE RECENTLY-LICENSED BANKS BEGAN OPERATING DURING THE MONTH, BRINGING THE NUMBER OF REPORTING BANKS TO 95.

DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES STATISTICS

DEPOSITS AT DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES ROSE IN MARCH 1979 BY $1,442 MILLION TO $14,016 MILLION, BUT THE AMOUNT ON-LENT BY THESE COMPANIES TO BANKS IN HONG KONG ROSE BY $997 MILLION TO $9,847 MILLION, SO THE NET DEPOSIT LIABILITIES OF DEPOS IT-TAK ING COMPANIES ROSE BY ONLY $445 MILLION,

LOANS AND ADVANCES IN HONG KONG BY DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES ROSE BY $508 MILLION TO $10,367 MILLION, BUT AFTER DEDUCTING AN INCREASE OF $325 MILLION IN THE AMOUNT BORROWED BY THESE COMPANIES FROM BANKS IN HONG KONG, NET LENDING BY DEPOSIT-TAK ING COMPANIES ROSE BY $183 MILLION TO $2,851 MILLION.

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