BALANCE OF PAYMENTS (Q2 2023)

For the second quarter of 2023, the overall balance of payments registered a current account surplus of US$22.24 billion, a net asset increase of US$21.05 billion on the financial account, and an increase of US$5.22 billion in the Bank's reserve assets.

1. Current Account

The current account surplus decreased by US$2.11 billion over the same quarter of the previous year.

1. The goods trade surplus widened by US$6.22 billion year on year to US$21.29 billion. Export growth remained negative, reflecting the global economic slowdown and continuous inventory adjustment. Imports also declined on falling prices of international raw materials and conservative restocking plans among companies. Overall, the decrease in imports was greater than that in exports.
2. The services account shifted from a surplus of US$3.71 billion in the same quarter the previous year to a deficit of US$2.48 billion mainly owing to a decrease in freight proceeds and an increase in travel expenditures.
3. Primary income surplus dropped by US$1.54 billion year on year to US$4.69 billion mainly reflecting a decline in residents' income from outward direct investment.
4. The secondary income deficit widened by US$0.60 billion to US$1.25 billion mainly because of increases in outward remittances by residents to supplement family overseas and by workers.

2. Financial Account

1. The direct investment account posted a net asset increase of US$1.06 billion. Of the components, outward direct investment by residents and inward direct investment by nonresidents recorded net increases of US$3.04 billion and US$1.98 billion, respectively.
2. The portfolio investment account posted a net asset increase of US$15.50 billion. Of the components, residents' portfolio investment abroad posted a net increase of US$19.27 billion, mainly owing to a rise in overseas debt securities investment by banks and the private sector. Nonresidents' portfolio investment recorded a net increase of US$3.77 billion mainly because foreign investors increased their equity holdings in the local stock markets.
3. The financial derivatives account posted a net asset decrease of US$0.05 billion, mainly owing to a decrease in assets as other financial institutions received gains on disposal of financial derivatives.
4. The account of other investment posted a net asset increase of US$4.54 billion, mainly reflecting an increase in banks' deposits with overseas branches.

3. Overview of BOP (Q1 – Q2, 2023)

For the first two quarters of 2023, the overall balance of payments posted a current account surplus of US$41.33 billion, a net asset increase of US$31.52 billion on the financial account, and an increase of US$9.94 billion in the Bank's reserve assets.

Notes: 1. The next release of balance of payments data will be at 16:20 p.m. on November 20, 2023.

            2. For the release schedule for the coming months, please visit the Advance Release Calendar on the Bank's website.