Hong Kong loans grew 16% in 2017 amidst soaring property prices

It posts one of the largest loan growth in Asia, easily beating Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Hong Kong posts one of the largest loan growth in the region, besting Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, after expanding from 6% to 16% YoY in 2017, according to a report from investment banking firm Jefferies. 

The city's red-hot property market is to thank for the sustained growth of loans in Hong Kong as asset prices, particularly in residential and commercial, continue to skyrocket and defy the administration's cooling measures. 

In a separate report, a breakdown of the headline loan growth figure shows that a significant proportion of the expansion (around 66%) was attributed to loans that are used in Hong Kong (loans that have a direct impact on economic activity in the city) in 2017. In particular, the performance of the domestic residential property market has been stellar over the course of the year, with prices rising by almost 20% YoY, and this has also driven strong loan growth (24.8% YoY in September 2017) for property investment and development.

Singapore, on the other hand, posts a modest 8% loan growth in 2017 which is a remarkable improvement from the measly 1% in 2016 as the investor sentiment in the propert market leans more on the positive side.