Press Release No. 03/17

Press Release: IMF Publishes 2001 Global Portfolio Investment Survey

February 11, 2003

Cross-border holdings of equity and debt securities in 2001 reached US$12.5 trillion in the 67 economies that participated in the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) latest Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey (CPIS). Of the total cross-border holdings reflected in the survey, US$5.1 trillion was in equity securities and US$7.4 trillion in debt securities. The CPIS results include securities held by portfolio investors (including monetary authorities) but exclude securities held by direct investors--those which hold a minimum of 10 percent of the shares of the entity that issues the securities.

Eight economies were both among the top ten issuers and among the top ten holders of securities that were traded internationally, according to the CPIS. They were the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands. These economies accounted for about 65 percent of cross-border holdings of equity and debt securities, and about 68 percent of cross-border liabilities to non-residents in the form of non-residents' holdings of equities and debt securities as reported by partner countries.

The U.S., the U.K., and Japan were the largest investing countries, accounting for 38 percent of total cross-border holdings of securities. The European Monetary Union accounted for 35 percent of the cross-border holdings (about 20 percent was accounted for by Luxembourg, Germany, France, and Italy). The U.S. and the U.K. predominantly held equity securities (72 percent and 48 percent, respectively) while Japan predominantly held debt securities. Japan was the top investor in fixed income instruments, holding more than 82 percent of its cross-border holdings as debt securities, which accounts for about 8 percent of the total reported by all countries.

The U.S., the U.K., and Germany accounted for some 40 percent of cross-border financing through securities issues as reported by partner countries. The U.S., the U.K., France, and Luxembourg accounted for some 48 percent of funds raised from non-residents through equity issues. Some 28 percent and 12 percent, respectively, of funds raised from non-residents through debt securities was by the U.S. and Germany.

Based on a comparison of the data for equity securities with other sources on the value of publicly-issued equities, the survey indicates that at least 20 percent of total equity securities on issue are held by non-residents of the issuing economy.

The 2001 CPIS is the second survey of global portfolio investment holdings by the IMF. The first survey was undertaken with 29 economies, including major investing countries and Bermuda for the period ending December 31, 1997 and showed portfolio holdings of equity and long-term debt securities of nearly US$5.2 trillion. (See News Brief No. 00/8). The 2001 CPIS covered industrial countries, transition economies, emerging market economies, and small economies with international financial centers. Middle East oil exporting countries were the only group not well represented in the 2001 survey.

The preliminary results of the 2001 CPIS are available on the Fund's website (Portfolio Investment: CPIS Data Results, http://www.imf.org/external/np/sta/pi/datarsl.htm). Starting with the 2001 survey, the CPIS will be an annual survey. The results of the 2002 CPIS are expected to be published on the Fund's website by the end of 2003. An annual CPIS database will help facilitate study of the volatility of capital flows over time, improve estimation of statistics on portfolio investment and associated income flows, and promote analysis of the links between portfolio investment flows and changes in the price of securities.

The CPIS seeks to provide comprehensive global information on cross-border ownership of securities. The objectives of the survey are (i) to collect comprehensive information on the geographical distribution of cross-border holdings of securities for use in the compilation and/or improvement of international investment position statistics; and (ii) to exchange, with the IMF's assistance, the bilateral data collected in national surveys. Because the bilateral data provide a creditor-source for nonresidents' holdings of debt securities, they are a useful addition to national data sources for the compilation of external debt statistics. The CPIS database serves as a complement to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) International Banking Statistics and the Joint BIS-IMF-Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)-World Bank statistics on external debt.

The CPIS is conducted in accordance with standardized definitions and methodologies and draws on best practices in survey design as identified in the IMF's Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey Guide (Second Edition). Considerable synergies were released by conducting national surveys for the same reference period and using common definitions and methodologies, and through the organization of regional CPIS workshops for national compilers. However, there are gaps in coverage for the household sector as most economies had difficulty including securities held with nonresident custodians by their household sector. For some economies this was a significant omission.

ANNEX

Tables (Use the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these tables)

Geographic Breakdown of Total Portfolio Investment: Top Ten Economies by Holders and Issuers, At Year-End 2001
http://www.imf.org/external/np/sta/pi/01/Table11.pdf (59kb PDF file)

Geographic Breakdown of Portfolio Investment; Equity Securities, Top Ten Economies by Holders and Issuers, At Year-End 2001
http://www.imf.org/external/np/sta/pi/01/Table11_1.pdf (59kb PDF file)

Geographic Breakdown of Portfolio Investment: Long-term Debt Securities, Top Ten Economies by Holders and Issuers, At Year-End 2001
http://www.imf.org/external/np/sta/pi/01/Table11_2.pdf (59kb PDF file)

Geographic Breakdown of Portfolio Investment: Short-term Debt Securities, Top Ten Economies by Holders and Issuers, At Year-End 2001
http://www.imf.org/external/np/sta/pi/01/Table11_3.pdf (59kb PDF file)

Participants in the 2001 CPIS

* Participated in the 1997 CPIS