Statistical Concepts, Methods and IT Applications

Singapore's Balance of Payments - Methodological Improvements and New Reporting Format for the Services Account

To meet the growing needs for more comprehensive information on international trade in services, the Department of Statistics has established the International Trade in Services (TIS) Survey as an important additional data source. The data collected through the TIS Surveys has facilitated the development of a new set of trade in services statistics with improved coverage and a higher level of dis-aggregation. Along with the incorporation of data from the TIS Survey, several methodological improvements are introduced in the compilation of the Balance of Payments (BOP). They include: (i) recording of data on merchanting stocks in the goods account; (ii) reclassification of the processing fees on goods for processing from services to the goods account; and (iii) expanding the scope of financial services to include implicit service charge on foreign exchange trading.

The Information Paper on  "Singapore's Balance of Payments - Methodological Improvements and New Reporting Format for the Services Account"   (541kb) presents and discusses the methodological improvements and conceptual revisions accompanying the incorporation of the TIS data into the BOP, and introduces a new reporting format for the services account.