XN000022-1985-03-08 — Page 12

FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 1985

PAR NOR

DEPOSITS

HONG KONG DOLLAR DE SITS GREW BY 2.5 PER CENT IN JANUARY, LESS THAN THE 3.3 PER CENT RISE IN DECEMBER. THESE DEPOSITS INCREASED BY 4.8 PER CENT IN THE THREE MONTHS TO JANUARY, AND FY 20.3 PEP CENT IN THE TWELVE MONTHS.

IN THE TWELVE MONTHS. FOREIGN CURRENCY DEPOSITS SHOWED NO INCREASE IN JANUARY. AFTER A RAPID INCREASE OF 4.5 PER CENT IN DECEMBER. THESE DEPOSITS INCREASED BY 2.8 PER CENT IN THE THREE MONTHS TO JANUARY AND BY 25.1 PER CENT

IN THE TWELVE MONTHS.

TOTAL DEPOSITS WITH BANKS REGISTERED THE SIXTH CONSECUTIVE MONTHLY INCREASE, RISING BY 1,8 PER CENT IN JANUARY COMPARED WITH 4.7 PER CENT IN DECEMBER. TOTAL DEPOSITS WITH DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES, HOWEVER, FELL BY 5.9 PER CENT, FOLLOWING A MARGINAL INCREASE OF 0.2 PER CENT IN THE PREVIOUS MONTH. OVER THE THREE MONTHS TO JANUARY, DEPOSITS WITH BANKS GREW BY 9.0 PER CENT WHILE THOSE WITH DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES DROPPED BY 6.1 PER CENT. THE SHIFT OF DEPOSITS THUS CONTINUED IN FAVOUR OF BANKS AS THE DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN MONEY MARKET INTEREST RATES AND HKAB DEPOSIT RATES, ALTHOUGH INCREASING DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE MONTH AS HKÁB RATES WERE CUT TWICE, REMAINED RELATIVELY SMALL.

STATISTICS ON SWAP DEPOSITS COLLECTED FROM BANKS INDICATE SOME INCREASE IN JANUARY. AT THE END OF JANUARY, $22.7 BILLION OR 16.1 PER CENT OF FOREIGN CURRENCY DEPOSITS WITH BANKS WERE HELD ON A SWAP BASIS, I.E. WHERE THE CUSTOMER HAS CONTRACTED WITH THE BANK TO PURCHASE HONG KONG DOLLARS AT A PRE-DETERMINED RATE WITH THE PROCEEDS OF THE FOREIGN CURRENCY DEPOSIT AT MATURITY. THE CORRESPONDING FIGURE AT THE END OF DECEMBER WAS 320.1 BILLION OR 14.6 PER CENT.

HONG KONG DOLLAR MONEY SUPPLY

HONG KONG DOLLAR MONEY SUPPLY ON ALL DEFINITIONS ROSE FURTHER IN JANUARY. HK$M1 (THE NARROWEST DEFINITION) ROSE STRONGLY BY 5.1 PER CENT. THE BROADER DEFINITIONS HK3M2 AND HK$M3 ALSO ROSE, ALBEIT LESS RAPIDLY, BY 1.5 PER CENT AND 0.5 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY. THE CORRESPONDING GROWTH RATES IN DECEMBER WERE 4.2 PER CENT, 4.5 PER CENT AND 3.3 PER CENT.

IN THE THREE MONTHS TO JANUARY, HK3M1 ROSE BY 14.2 PER CENT, HK$M2 BY 12.8 PER CENT AND HK$M3 BY 8.5 PER CENT. OVER THE TWELVE MONTHS, THE RESPECTIVE GROWTH RATES WERE 5.2 PER CENT, 17.2 PER CENT AND 16.7 PER CENT.

TOTAL MONEY