Hong Kong\'s RMB deposits down 2.1% in Jan.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority Wednesday announced that renminbi (RMB) deposits in Hong Kong declined by 2.1 percent to 576 billion yuan (about 91.43 billion U. S. dollars) at the end of the month, while overall foreign-currency deposits grew by 0.9 percent in January. According to statistics, the total remittance of the RMB for cross-border trade settlement amounted to 156.4 billion yuan in January, compared with 239 billion yuan in December. Total loans and advances decreased by 0.7 percent in January. Loans for use in Hong Kong increased by 0.8 percent and loans for use outside Hong Kong expanded by 0.5 percent. As Hong Kong-dollar loans were little changed while deposits rose, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio decreased to 83.4 percent at the end of January from 84.5 percent at the end of December. Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 decreased by 2.4 percent in January and increased by 2.2 percent year on year. Unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 expanded by 1.8 percent during the month and grew by 5.5 percent from a year earlier. (1 U.S. dollars is equivalent to 6.3 yuan)