1.10
slowing down. The
on foreign currency
During the first half of the year, domestic interest rates remained stable in comparison to the wide fluctuations
experienced in the second half of 1981. The new series of
monetary statistics, although influenced by a number of special factors (paragraph 3.2), suggest that the underlying
growth rates of money and credit were
removal of the interest withholding tax
deposits as from 25th February 1982 stimulated a large
increase in foreign currency deposits (largely in US
dollars) (paragraph 3.3). There was also a marked shift of
deposits from deposit-taking companies to banks as banks
started to compete for short-term large deposits (paragraph 3.4). Loans and advances for use in Hong Kong expanded by 18% during the first half of 1982, compared with 26% in the first
half of 1981.
1.11
The exchange value of the Hong Kong dollar, measured by the trade-weighted exchange rate index, increased in the
first half. But in terms of the US dollar, there was a slight depreciation (paragraph 3.14).
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