Among the total, Hong Kong dollar deposits decreased by 1.4% while foreign currency deposits increased by 0.8%, mainly reflecting fund flows of corporates.  In the year to end-October, total deposits rose by 0.4% while Hong Kong dollar deposits decreased by 1.9%.  Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong increased by 3.2% in October to RMB884.8 billion at the end of October.  The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB738.1 billion in October, compared with RMB886.5 billion in September.  It should be noted that changes in deposits are affected by a wide range of factors, such as interest rate movements and fund-raising activities.  It is therefore more appropriate to observe the longer-term trends, and not to over-generalise fluctuations in a single month.  

Total loans and advances decreased by 1.2% in October, and decreased by 1.9% in the year to end-October.  Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) decreased by 1.0% in October and loans for use outside Hong Kong decreased by 1.7%.  The Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio increased to 90.8% at the end of October from 90.1% at the end of September, as Hong Kong dollar deposits decreased by a larger extent than Hong Kong dollar loans.

Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both decreased by 1.3% in October and were both lower by 2.2% when compared to a year ago.  The seasonally-adjusted Hong Kong dollar M1 decreased by 4.9% in October, and decreased by 15.1% compared to a year ago, reflecting in part investment-related activities.  Total M2 and total M3 both decreased by 0.4% in October.  Compared to a year earlier, total M2 and total M3 both rose by 1.2%.

As monthly monetary statistics are subject to volatilities due to a wide range of transient factors, such as seasonal and IPO-related funding demand as well as business and investment-related activities, caution is required when interpreting the statistics.

Annex