XN000022-1985-03-29 — Page 3

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FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 1985

STATISTICS ON SWAP DEPOSITS COLLECTED FROM BANKS INDICATE A FURTHER INCREASE TO $23.4 BILLION AT THE END OF FEBRUARY, FROM $22.7 BILLION AT THE END OF JANUARY. THE PERCENTAGE SHARE OF THESE DEPOSITS IN TOTAL FOREIGN CURRENCY DEPOSITS WITH BANKS REMAINED LITTLE CHANGED AT 16.3 PER CENT, COMPARED WITH 16.1 PER CENT IN JANUARY.

HONG KONG DOLLAR MONEY SUPPLY

HONG KONG DOLLAR MONEY SUPPLY CONTINUED TO GROW ON ALL DEFINITIONS IN FEBRUARY. HK$M1 (THE NARROWEST DEFINITION) AFFECTED BY THE SEASONAL INCREASE IN CASH DEMAND AROUND LUNAR NEW YEAR, ROSE BY 9.3 PER CENT. HK$M2 AND HK$M3 (THE BROADER DEFINITIONS) ALSO ROSE, ALBEIT AT MORE MODERATE RATES OF 1.8 PER CENT AND 2.0 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY. THE CORRESPONDING GROWTH RATES IN JANUARY WERE 5.1 PER CENT, 1.5 PER CENT AND 0.5 PER CENT.

IN THE THREE MONTHS TO FEBRUARY, HK$M1 ROSE BY 19.7 PER CENT, HK$M2 BY 7.9 PER CENT AND HK$M3 BY 5.9 PER CENT. OVER THE TWELVE MONTHS, THE RESPECTIVE GROWTH RATES WERE 25.3 PER CENT, 12.9 PER CENT AND 14.1 PER CENT.

TOTAL MONEY SUPPLY

TOTAL MONEY SUPPLY ALSO ROSE ON ALL DEFINITIONS. WHILE TOTAL M1 ROSE SHARPLY BY 9.6 PER CENT, THE INCREASE WAS LARGELY SEASONAL. TOTAL M2 AND TOTAL M3 ALSO GREW, ALBEIT LESS RAPIDLY, BY 1.7 PER CENT AND 2.1 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY. IN JANUARY, THEIR GROWTH RATES WERE 3.9 PER CENT, 2.0 PER CENT AND 0.5 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY. THE CORRESPONDING GROWTH RATES OVER THE THREE MONTHS TO FEBRUARY WERE 20.0 PER CENT, 8.6 PER CENT AND 6.5 PER CENT, AND OVER THE TWELVE MONTHS WERE 26.7 PER CENT, 19.4 PER CENT AND 20.7 PER CENT.

LOANS AND ADVANCES

LOANS AND ADVANCES EXTENDED BY BANKS AND DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES CONTINUED TO GROW SLOWLY, BY 0.5 PER CENT IN FEBRUARY FOLLOWING 0.1 PER CENT IN JANUARY. OVER THE THREE MONTHS TO FEBRUARY. THESE GREW BY ONLY 1.0 PER CENT AND OVER THE TWELVE MONTHS BY 7.6 PER CENT.

WITHIN THE