XN000022-1982-06-07 — Page 2

MONDAY, JUNE 7, 1982

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MONEY SUPPLY AND FINANCIAL STATISTICS FOR APRIL 1982

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MONEY SUPPLY AND FINANCIAL STATISTICS FOR APRIL 1982, PUBLISHED TODAY (MONDAY) SHOW THAT THE GROWTH PATTERN OF THE MONETARY AGGREGATES WAS STILL AFFECTED BY THE SPECIAL FACTORS MENTIONED IN MARCH, NAMELY THE REMOVAL OF WITHHOLDING TAX ON INTEREST ON FOREIGN CURRENCY DEPOSITS, THE EXEMPTION OF LARGE SHORT-TERM DEPOSITS WITH BANKS FROM THE HONG KONG ASSOCIATION OF BANKS' INTEREST RATE RULES AND ADJUSTMENTS BY REGISTERED DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES TO RUN DOWN THEIR SHORT-TERM DEPOSIT

BASE.

IN CONSEQUENCE, TOTAL MONEY SUPPLY ON THE BROADER DEFINITIONS (M2 AND M3) CONTINUED TO GROW FASTER THAN ITS HONG KONG DOLLAR COMPONENT, AND THERE WAS A CONTINUING SHIFT FROM DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES TO BANKS IN THE SECTORAL DISTRIBUTION OF DEPOSITS, CAUSING M3 TO GROW BY LESS THAN M2.

THE ATTACHED MONETARY TABLE SETS OUT THE DETAILED FIGURES FOR APRIL 1982, AND FOR EARLIER MONTHS, FROM THE STATISTICS COLLECTED UNDER THE MONETARY STATISTICS ORDINANCE.

HONG KONG DOLLAR MONEY SUPPLY

THE HK$ MONEY SUPPLY, ON THE NARROWEST DEFINITION, M1, ROSE BY 3 PER CENT IN APRIL, AFTER FALLING BY 1.1 PER CENT IN MARCH, WITH THE RISE LARGELY REFLECTING A RISE IN DEMAND DEPOSITS WITH BANKS, HK$ M2 GREW BY 2.4 PER CENT IN APRIL, AFTER INCREASING BY 3.8 PER CENT IN MARCH. HK$ M3 ROSE BY 0.3 PER CENT, FOLLOWING A FALL OF 1 PER CENT IN THE PREVIOUS MONTH.

IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS HK$ M1 HAS FALLEN BY 6.7 PER CENT, HK$ M2 HAS INCREASED BY 4 PER CENT, AND HK$ M3 HAS FALLEN BY 1.9 PER CENT. OVER A TWELVE-MONTH PERIOD THE CORRESPONDING FIGURES ARE INCREASES OF, RESPECTIVELY, 6.8 PER CENT, 15.8 PER CENT AND 12.8 PER CENT.

TOTAL (ALL CURRENCIES) MONEY SUPPLY

TOTAL M1 ROSE BY 2.4 PER CENT IN APRIL AFTER A FALL OF 1.1 PER CENT IN MARCH. TOTAL M2 GREW BY 8.2 PER CENT COMPARED WITH AN INCREASE OF 11.2 PER CENT IN MARCH, AND TOTAL M3 BY 5.2 PER CENT AS AGAINST AN INCREASE OF 4.6 PER CENT.

IN THE THREE MONTHS TO THE END OF APRIL, M1 FELL BY 6.8 PER CENT WHILE M2 AND M3, GREW BY, RESPECTIVELY, 19.7 PER CENT AND 10.1 PER CENT. OVER A TWELVE-MONTH PERIOD THESE THREE AGGREGATES ROSE BY 9.4 PER CENT, 41.8 PER CENT, AND 33.4 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY.

/LOANS FOR