Hong Kong's new mortgage lending increased last December after having declined for five consecutive months, reported the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) on January 28.

The amount of gross new loans made in December increased by 36.1 percent to 10.5 billion HK dollars (1.3 billion US dollars) from November, which saw a five percent decline.

New loans approved during December rose by 10.4 percent to 14.4billion HK dollars (1.8 billion US dollars).

Refinancing loans continued to grow and accounted for 51.1 percent of new loans approved, compared with 50.6 percent in November.

On the pricing front, 85.3 percent of the new loans were granted at the best lending rate, in comparison with 91.6 percent in November.

The loan delinquency ratio, measured by the ratio of mortgage loans overdue for more than three months to total outstanding mortgage loans, fell to 1.13 percent as at December 1999, compared with 1.17 percent in November.

"Competition for mortgage business continues to intensify, as shown by the further rise in the ratio of refinancing loans and the increased proportion of new loans at margins below the best lending rate," said David Carse, deputy chief executive of the HKMA.

"However, the asset quality of the mortgage portfolio continues to hold up well, as shown by the renewed downturn in the delinquency ratio," he said. (Xinhua)