
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority reported that total deposits with authorised institutions rose by 0.6% in August 2023, with Hong Kong dollar deposits and foreign currency deposits growing by 0.4% and 0.8%, respectively. Year-to-date, total deposits expanded by 2.0%, while Hong Kong dollar deposits increased by 1.9%. Furthermore, Renminbi deposits witnessed a significant 6.0% hike in August, reaching CNY962.5bn (USD133.7bn), largely driven by corporate fund flows. However, total loans and advances saw a decline of 0.3% in August, leading to a 1.7% drop year-to-date. The loan-to-deposit ratio in Hong Kong dollars also decreased from 87.8% in July to 87.1% in August. The report emphasised the importance of considering long-term trends due to the volatile nature of monthly monetary statistics influenced by various transient factors.