HK's total deposits up 0.8% in July

HONG KONG - Hong Kong's total deposits rose 0.8 percent in July, with a 1 percent rise in Hong Kong dollar deposits and a 0.5 percent rise in foreign-currency deposits, the city's Monetary Authority said Friday.

The released figure showed renminbi deposits rose 1 percent to 563.2 billion yuan ($88.69 billion). The total renminbi remittance for cross-border trade settlement amounted to 223.4 billion yuan in July, compared with 241.4 billion yuan in the previous month.

Total loans and advances rose 1 percent, with both loans for use in Hong Kong and outside Hong Kong up 1 percent. As Hong Kong- dollar loans increased at a slower rate than deposits, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio edged down to 83.6 percent at the end of July.

Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 grew 1.9 percent in July and expanded 5.8 percent year-on-year. Unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 increased 1 percent during the month and expanded 5 percent from a year earlier.