The central bank yesterday said the nation posted a balance of payments surplus of US$4.39 billion for the second quarter this year, widening from surpluses of US$3.88 billion a year earlier and US$2.62 billion in the first quarter.
The balance of payments — which includes the current, financial and capital accounts — summarizes the net amount of money paid or received by the nation.
The bank’s latest statistics showed that the current-account surplus continued increasing last quarter, but the outflow of overseas investments was still on the rise, according to a statement released by the bank.
The current-account surplus in the April-to-June quarter was US$16.47 billion, expanding from a US$14.03 billion surplus in the year-earlier period and compared with a US$15.49 billion surplus in the prior quarter, thanks to a larger increase in exports than in imports over the period, as well as persistent increases in surpluses on services and tourism income.
The bank’s statistics also showed the nation continued seeing a net outflow in the financial account of US$14.37 billion in the second quarter, compared with US$7.42 billion in the same period last year and US$12.95 billion between January and March.
The financial account posted a net outflow for the 16th consecutive quarter last quarter, the longest period of outflow in the nation’s history, as a result of rising overseas investments by domestic investors, according to the bank’s statistics.
However, the bank downplayed any concern over the continued net outflow in the financial account.
“For countries with a current-account surplus, such as Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Germany and Norway, all their financial accounts tend to show a net outflow,” the bank said in the statement.
A closer look at the breakdown of the financial account in the past quarter indicates that residents’ portfolio investments abroad saw a net outflow of US$10.35 billion, non-residents’ portfolio investments recorded a net inflow of US$9.45 billion, while financial derivatives posted a net inflow of US$170 million.
Overall, the nation’s net outflow in the financial account has persisted since the third quarter of 2010, with the cumulative net outflow reaching US$143.43 billion since that time, according to the bank’s statistics.
For the first half of the year, the current account registered a surplus of US$31.92 billion, the financial account showed a net outflow of US$27.47 billion and the overall balance recorded a surplus of US$7.02 billion, reflecting an increase in the central bank’s reserves, the bank said.
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