HONG KONG - The Hong Kong Monetary Authority Thursday announced that total deposits with authorized institutions rose by 1.8 percent in December.

As the expansion in demand and savings deposits exceeded the contraction in time deposits, Hong Kong-dollar deposits expanded by 1.9 percent during the month.

Overall foreign-currency deposits grew by 1.6 percent in December, and renminbi deposits in Hong Kong increased by 5.6 percent to 603 billion yuan($96.8 billion). The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to 264.1 billion yuan in December, compared with 243 billion yuan in the previous month.

Total loans and advances picked up by 1.5 percent in December. Loans for use in Hong Kong rose by 0.9 percent and loans for use outside Hong Kong expanded by 2.8 percent. As Hong Kong-dollar loans increased at a slower rate than deposits, the Hong Kong- dollar loan-to-deposit ratio declined to 79.8 percent at the end of December from 80.7 percent a month ago.

In the final quarter of 2012, loans for use in Hong Kong expanded by 2.5 percent, after rising by 1.6 percent in the previous quarter. Analyzed by economic use, the quarterly expansion in loans was led by loans for building, construction, property development and investment, residential mortgage loans, and lending to financial concerns.

Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 increased by 2.1 percent in December and expanded by 15.8 percent year-on-year. Unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 rose by 1.9 percent during the month and picked up by 12.1 percent from a year earlier.

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