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Balance of Payments

The Balance of Payments (BOP) is a statement that summarises the economic transactions between residents of an economy and non-residents. These transactions occur during a specific time period. The BOP consists of the current account, and the capital and financial account. The former covers cross-border transactions in goods and services, as well as income flows and transfers while the latter records capital and financial flows. The BOP is used to assess the external performance of an economy and to formulate policies associated with it.

Singapore’s BOP estimates are compiled in accordance with the principles and recommendations set out in the International Monetary Fund’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual. The structure and classification of Singapore’s BOP accounts follow the sixth edition of the manual.

Studies to improve the BOP estimates are continual and the estimates are revised as and when appropriate.

The BOP estimates are compiled mainly from trade statistics, regular surveys of companies and administrative records of government departments and statutory authorities.

Data

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Key Indicators
Items Unit Latest Period Latest Data % Change
(Y‑o‑Y) 1/
Previous
Period Data
% Change
(Y‑o‑Y) 2/
Balance of Payments            
Balance of Payments S$m Q2/23 25,106.1 na 31,312.9 na
Current Account Balance S$m Q2/23 31,024.5 na 30,559.6 na

Exports of Goods and Services

S$m Q2/23 280,145.1 -10.9 275,134.4 -3.6

Imports of Goods and Services

S$m Q2/23 217,029.4 -13.5 223,189.4 -3.3

Primary Income Balance

S$m Q2/23 -30,190.5 na -19,850.6 na

Secondary Income Balance

S$m Q2/23 -1,900.7 na -1,534.8 na
Capital and Financial Account Balance 3/ S$m Q2/23 5,693.1 na -1,708.2 na
Reserve Assets S$m Q2/23 25,106.1 na 31,312.9 na
Official Foreign Reserves US$m Aug-23 337,251.5 16.5 340,793.3 18.2

Balance of Payments

Title : Singapore's Balance Of Payments, (BPM6 Format), Annual

Million Dollars

Data Items

2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022

D Overall Balance (A-B+C)

1,500.7
-2,455.3
37,841.2
16,924.5
-11,442.8
103,316.5
88,907.2
-157,431.5

A Current Account Balance

79,154.5
78,332.9
85,979.4
79,893
83,045.6
79,080.6
102,607.5
124,410

Goods Balance

127,267.9
124,176.9
139,375.1
140,869.4
133,452.4
146,825.9
168,939.7
188,236.8

Exports Of Goods

544,736.4
515,578.5
576,031.2
621,662.3
602,840.4
579,410.1
691,271.1
799,006.8

Imports Of Goods

417,468.5
391,401.6
436,656.1
480,792.9
469,388
432,584.2
522,331.4
610,770

Services Balance

-11,676.9
-8,666.1
-13,037.1
9,108
18,121.9
3,166
31,847.9
45,001.2

Exports Of Services

210,622.7
210,221.1
237,243.6
279,876.3
299,830.9
295,393.1
358,080.9
401,544.4

Imports Of Services

222,299.6
218,887.2
250,280.7
270,768.3
281,709
292,227.1
326,233
356,543.2

Primary Income Balance

-28,892.8
-26,906.8
-32,983.4
-62,329.5
-58,778.3
-65,167.9
-93,225.7
-103,590.5

Primary Income Receipts

98,544.7
108,146.7
139,887.7
146,369.7
152,186.7
149,021.1
196,438
216,540.9

Primary Income Payments

127,437.5
135,053.5
172,871.1
208,699.2
210,965
214,189
289,663.7
320,131.4

Secondary Income Balance

-7,543.7
-10,271.1
-7,375.2
-7,754.9
-9,750.4
-5,743.4
-4,954.4
-5,237.5

Secondary Income Receipts

13,549.1
15,013.7
14,356.6
24,389.9
24,897.8
27,973.4
27,669.6
28,921.6

Secondary Income Payments

21,092.8
25,284.8
21,731.8
32,144.8
34,648.2
33,716.8
32,624
34,159.1

B Capital & Financial Account Balance * The capital account is consolidated under the financial account. Decrease in assets and liabilities, and net inflows in net balances, are indicated by a minus (-) sign.

72,054.7
81,071.8
45,566
62,548.1
98,148.8
-24,181.7
11,417.1
279,380

Financial Account (Net)

72,054.7
81,071.8
45,566
62,548.1
98,148.8
-24,181.7
11,417.1
279,380

Direct Investment

-33,753.8
-35,728.4
-51,012.9
-78,704.7
-53,463.6
-55,265.6
-117,880.1
-124,156.8

Assets

62,174
54,573.6
90,062.1
30,768.5
90,172.9
52,971.8
68,251.7
70,020.2

Liabilities

95,927.8
90,302
141,075
109,473.2
143,636.5
108,237.4
186,131.8
194,177

Portfolio Investment

84,760.1
20,017.3
27,485.6
71,548.2
148,152.9
83,493.1
81,058.7
95,413.4

Assets

76,187
35,858.8
62,926.6
52,562.3
155,604.4
78,132.8
106,609.5
125,033.2

Liabilities

-8,573.1
15,841.5
35,441
-18,985.9
7,451.5
-5,360.3
25,550.8
29,619.8

Financial Derivatives

-7,582.7
16,699.9
11,357
28,111.6
9,126.6
-3,938.5
-1,633.6
3,123.6

Assets

-11,227.7
9,190.9
-1,463.5
7,077.3
15,005.7
22,298.9
1,016.8
14,160

Liabilities

-3,645
-7,509
-12,820.5
-21,034.3
5,879.1
26,237.4
2,650.4
11,036.4

Other Investment

28,631.1
80,083
57,736.3
41,593
-5,667.1
-48,470.7
49,872.1
304,999.8

Assets

36,516.1
119,588
103,402.1
142,931.3
64,813.2
84,520.5
147,567.7
290,961.6

Liabilities

7,885
39,505
45,665.8
101,338.3
70,480.3
132,991.2
97,695.6
-14,038.2

C Net Errors & Omissions

-5,599.1
283.6
-2,572.2
-420.4
3,660.4
54.2
-2,283.2
-2,461.5

E Reserve Assets

1,500.7
-2,455.3
37,841.2
16,924.5
-11,442.8
103,316.5
88,907.2
-157,431.5
SOURCE : SINGAPORE DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS

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International Investment Position

The international investment position (IIP) is a statistical statement that shows, at a point in time, the value and composition of cross border financial assets and liabilities of residents of an economy. The net IIP is the difference between its external financial assets and its liabilities. In addition, the sum of the net IIP with the value of non-financial assets reflects the net worth of an economy.

The IIP is related to the financial account of the balance of payments. While the financial account shows net acquisition and disposal of financial assets and liabilities during a period, the IIP records the stock of financial assets and liabilities at a specific point in time. Due to this relationship, both the IIP and financial account of the balance of payments use functional categories as the highest level of classification. These functional categories are direct investment, portfolio investment, financial derivatives, other investment, and reserve assets.

Singapore’s IIP estimates are compiled based on the principles recommended in the International Monetary Fund’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, Sixth edition

Data

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Key Indicators
SDDS Data Category and Component Unit Description Observations % change Data Source/
Links to Data
In Latest data in Latest-1 data
Date of Latest Latest data Latest-1 data (over same period in previous year)
External Sector
International Investment Position #/ DOS
Singapore External Assets S$m
Q2/23
7,154,483.8
7,001,064.7
1.7
-0.1

*Direct Investment S$m
Q2/23
2,214,987.5
2,178,030.6
6.9
7.2

*Portfolio Investment S$m
Q2/23
2,268,254.7
2,258,681.9
-1.9
-2.2

Equity and Investment Fund Shares S$m
Q2/23
1,337,813.4
1,306,429.6
1.3
-2.4

Debt Securities S$m
Q2/23
930,441.3
952,252.3
-6.1
-2.1

*Financial Derivatives S$m
Q2/23
311,818.2
268,578.8
15.8
19.6

*Other Investment S$m
Q2/23
1,911,177.0
1,879,758.7
-1.6
-2.5

*Reserve Assets 1/ S$m
Q2/23
448,246.4
416,014.7
2.4
-19.0

Singapore External Liabilities S$m
Q2/23
6,032,610.5
5,873,596.7
3.6
2.4

*Direct Investment S$m
Q2/23
3,286,128.7
3,231,861.2
7.8
7.6

*Portfolio Investment S$m
Q2/23
597,931.8
589,277.6
7.0
3.9

Equity and Investment Fund Shares S$m
Q2/23
392,600.8
392,186.3
7.2
-0.9

Debt Securities S$m
Q2/23
205,331.0
197,091.3
6.5
15.0

*Financial Derivatives S$m
Q2/23
325,731.1
276,954.4
16.6
20.2

*Other Investment S$m
Q2/23
1,822,818.9
1,775,503.5
-5.8
-8.2

Net International Investment Position S$m
Q2/23
1,121,873.3
1,127,468.0
-7.4
-11.6

International Investment Position

Title : Singapore International Investment Position, (End Of Period), Annual

Million Dollars

Data Items

2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022

Net International Investment Position

914,909.5
1,031,380.3
1,146,973.3
928,580
1,202,369.4
1,373,305.3
1,277,319.4
1,105,393.3

External Assets

4,354,513.3
4,647,527.1
5,090,323.8
5,163,677.2
5,788,987.4
6,426,859.5
6,828,703.2
7,063,974.2

Direct Investment

1,046,666.9
1,203,055.8
1,413,810.7
1,338,570.6
1,604,503
1,823,637.9
1,977,592.2
2,145,149.1

Portfolio Investment

1,368,941.2
1,488,863.6
1,691,134
1,701,102.4
2,028,951.1
2,170,643.9
2,302,220.9
2,246,632.7

Financial Derivatives

134,603.2
125,472.4
90,946.5
118,723.3
143,500.3
179,065.6
159,425.4
305,628.7

Other Investment

1,453,311.2
1,473,881.4
1,520,438.6
1,613,185.1
1,636,250.5
1,774,672
1,826,125.9
1,978,307.6

Reserve Assets * Assets held by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

350,990.8
356,253.9
373,994
392,095.8
375,782.5
478,840.1
563,338.8
388,256.1

External Liabilities

3,439,603.8
3,616,146.8
3,943,350.5
4,235,097.2
4,586,618
5,053,554.2
5,551,383.8
5,958,580.9

Direct Investment

1,543,357.5
1,655,824.5
1,902,113.3
2,077,048.4
2,340,416.6
2,625,679.3
2,932,564.9
3,184,545.5

Portfolio Investment

248,072.9
295,368.5
373,405.6
366,039.5
398,318.4
434,530.8
547,367.2
602,338.9

Financial Derivatives

127,941
124,035.3
101,265
142,360.4
161,767.6
208,975.2
185,088.3
308,899.3

Other Investment

1,520,232.4
1,540,918.5
1,566,566.6
1,649,648.9
1,686,115.4
1,784,368.9
1,886,363.4
1,862,797.2
SOURCE : SINGAPORE DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS

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Singapore's International Investment Position Dashboard

Portfolio Investment Assets Dashboard

External Debt

Gross external debt is defined as the outstanding amount of current (and not contingent) debt liabilities owed to non-residents by residents of an economy. The values reflected are as at a point in time. The external debt position can also be understood as a subset of the IIP, where it is equivalent to total external liabilities of the latter less equity and investment fund shares and financial derivatives. External debt statistics is used to monitor and analyse the external vulnerability of an economy.

The compilation of Singapore’s external debt statistics is consistent with the recommendations set out in the International Monetary Fund’s External Debt Statistics Guide (2013).

Data

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Key Indicators
SDDS Data Category and Component Unit Description Observations % change Data Source/
Links to Data
In Latest data in Latest-1 data
Date of Latest Latest data Latest-1 data (over same period in previous year)
External Sector
External Debt 1/ #/ DOS
Direct Investment: Intercompany Loans S$m
Q2/23
392,868.9
395,077.1
-2.4
-0.7

Debt Liabilities of DIE 2/ to Direct Investors S$m
Q2/23
294,549.1
298,646.6
-4.6
-3.0

Debt Liabilities of Direct Investors to DIE 2/ S$m
Q2/23
43,724.8
43,882.2
-0.6
7.0

Debt Liabilities between Fellow Enterprises S$m
Q2/23
54,595.0
52,548.4
9.6
7.3

Other Liabilities S$m
Q2/23
2,027,642.0
1,972,110.1
-4.7
-6.3

General Government S$m
Q2/23
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

Central Bank S$m
Q2/23
8,071.3
8,004.0
-2.6
-4.5

Short-term S$m
Q2/23
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

Loans S$m
Q2/23
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

Debt Securities S$m
Q2/23
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

Currency and Deposits 3/ S$m
Q2/23
-
-
-
-

Others S$m
Q2/23
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

Long-term S$m
Q2/23
8,071.3
8,004.0
-2.6
-4.5

Special Drawing Rights (allocations) S$m
Q2/23
8,071.3
8,004.0
-2.6
-4.5
Loans S$m
Q2/23
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

Debt Securities S$m
Q2/23
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

Others S$m
Q2/23
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

Deposit-Taking Corporations S$m
Q2/23
1,496,978.6
1,447,058.8
-4.9
-6.9

Short-term S$m
Q2/23
1,320,086.5
1,273,903.4
-4.0
-6.3

Loans S$m
Q2/23
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

Debt Securities S$m
Q2/23
34,775.8
32,317.0
38.7
39.5

Currency and Deposits S$m
Q2/23
1,274,998.6
1,230,227.8
-4.6
-7.0

Others S$m
Q2/23
10,312.1
11,358.6
-24.6
-18.4

Long-term S$m
Q2/23
176,892.1
173,155.4
-11.4
-10.8

Loans S$m
Q2/23
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

Debt Securities S$m
Q2/23
8,894.7
9,949.3
-60.5
-11.5

Others S$m
Q2/23
167,997.4
163,206.1
-5.2
-10.7

Other Sector S$m
Q2/23
522,592.1
517,047.3
-4.0
-4.7

Short-term S$m
Q2/23
297,487.9
296,019.3
-7.6
-6.9

Trade Credits and Advances S$m
Q2/23
137,287.0
141,277.7
-16.0
-11.5

Loans S$m
Q2/23
122,157.7
118,822.2
-6.8
-11.4

Debt Securities S$m
Q2/23
29,726.3
27,567.5
66.4
94.5

Others S$m
Q2/23
8,316.9
8,351.9
-12.8
-15.3

Long-term S$m
Q2/23
225,104.2
221,028.0
1.1
-1.6

Loans S$m
Q2/23
55,909.6
54,470.8
-5.7
-12.8

Debt Securities S$m
Q2/23
131,934.2
127,257.5
3.5
3.6

Others S$m
Q2/23
37,260.4
39,299.7
3.7
-0.2

Gross External Debt S$m
Q2/23
2,420,510.9
2,367,187.2
-4.3
-5.4

Exchange Rate S$ per US$ (as at end-month) 4 / S$ per US$
Aug/23
1.3503
1.3318
-3.2
-3.4
MAS

External Debt

Title : Singapore External Debt Statistics, (End Of Period), Quarterly

Million Dollars

Data Items

2021 3Q
2021 4Q
2022 1Q
2022 2Q
2022 3Q
2022 4Q
2023 1Q
2023 2Q

Gross External Debt

2,433,781.4
2,463,997.4
2,502,757.4
2,530,465.9
2,585,253.1
2,481,397
2,367,187.2
2,420,510.9

Direct Investment:Intercompany Loans

417,449.1
408,277.9
397,973.8
402,715.2
404,091.5
397,025.1
395,077.1
392,868.9

Debt Liabilities Of DIE To Direct Investors * Refers to direct investment enterprise.

318,779.3
308,746.7
307,994
308,889.7
310,746.7
303,140.5
298,646.5
294,549.1

Debt Liabilities Of Direct Investors To DIE * Refers to direct investment enterprise.

42,374
42,967
41,017.9
44,009.8
42,871
43,187
43,882.2
43,724.8

Debt Liabilities Between Fellow Enterprises

56,295.8
56,564.2
48,961.9
49,815.7
50,473.8
50,697.6
52,548.4
54,595

Other Liabilities

2,016,332.3
2,055,719.5
2,104,783.6
2,127,750.7
2,181,161.6
2,084,371.9
1,972,110.1
2,027,642

General Government

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

Central Bank

8,570.7
8,457.3
8,381.8
8,285.6
8,212.1
8,052
8,004
8,071.3

Deposit-Taking Corporations

1,502,629.7
1,523,658.1
1,553,918.4
1,574,820.6
1,622,036.6
1,551,156.8
1,447,058.8
1,496,978.6

Other Sector

505,131.9
523,604.1
542,483.4
544,644.5
550,912.9
525,163.1
517,047.3
522,592.1
SOURCE : SINGAPORE DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS

Visualising Data

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Singapore's External Debt Dashboard

Definitions

International Accounts
Balance of Payments View
External Debt View
International Investment Position View

Other References

Balance of Payments
Economic Survey of Singapore View
Impact of Global Economic Disruptions on Singapore's Balance of Payments View
Methodological Improvements to the Current Account of Singapore’s Balance of Payments View
Adoption of the Extended Balance of Payments Services Classifications View
Singapore's International Accounts: Methodological Updates and Recent Developments View
Implementation of IMF Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, Sixth Edition in Singapore’s Balance of Payments View
Compilation and Reporting of Singapore’s Cross-Border Financial Derivatives View
International Investment Position
Singapore’s Portfolio Investment: Holdings of Foreign Equity and Debt Securities View
Singapore's International Accounts: Methodological Updates and Recent Developments View
Implementation of IMF Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, Sixth Edition in Singapore’s Balance of Payments View
Compilation and Reporting of Singapore’s Cross-Border Financial Derivatives View
External Debt
Singapore's International Accounts: Methodological Updates and Recent Developments View
Implementation of IMF Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, Sixth Edition in Singapore’s Balance of Payments View