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Balance of Payments International Investment Position External Debt

Balance of Payments

Singapore's balance of payments (BOP) is a statement that summarises the economic transactions between Singapore residents and non-residents. These transactions occur during a specific time period. It consists of the current account, and the capital and financial account.

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$m 4Q 2024 -11,230.7 na 17,336.4 na
Current Account Balance S$m 4Q 2024 28,814.1 na 33,894.9 na

Exports of Goods and Services

 S$m 4Q 2024 338,195.8 5.2 329,160.8 5.9

Imports of Goods and Services

 S$m 4Q 2024 274,450.4 7.9 263,594.0 6.8

Primary Income Balance

 S$m 4Q 2024 -32,453.2 na -28,417.6 na

Secondary Income Balance

 S$m 4Q 2024 -2,478.1 na -3,254.3 na
Capital and Financial Account Balance 3/ S$m 4Q 2024 39,070.5 na 17,110.6 na
Reserve Assets S$m 4Q 2024 -11,230.7 na 17,336.4 na
Official Foreign Reserves US$m Jan-25 376,702.9 5.3 371,433.2 5.8

Data are preliminary when first released.
na not available or not applicable
1 Refers to % change in latest period over the same period in the previous year.
2 Refers to % change in the previous period over the same period in the previous year.
3 Decrease in assets and liabilities, and net inflows in net balances, are indicated by a minus [-] sign).

Balance of Payments

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

Million Dollars

Data Items

2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024

D Overall Balance (A-B+C)

37,841.2
16,924.5
-11,442.8
103,316.5
88,907.2
-157,431.5
81,837.7
39,678.8

A Current Account Balance

88,290
79,824.7
78,943.2
84,312.6
116,124.4
129,278.4
120,047.8
128,298.7

Goods Balance

136,879.6
138,574.5
129,193.4
141,891.9
162,794.2
220,728.9
211,127.4
197,940.8

Exports Of Goods

573,495.6
619,318
600,491.9
575,746.3
689,203.5
837,896.5
751,224.8
779,066

Imports Of Goods

436,616
480,743.5
471,298.5
433,854.4
526,409.3
617,167.6
540,097.4
581,125.2

Services Balance

-10,217.8
13,011.8
21,607.5
9,974.1
49,891.3
59,128.5
42,901.4
59,386.8

Exports Of Services

241,568
287,141.4
307,215.9
300,004.6
382,492.4
468,190.5
481,009.2
528,568.3

Imports Of Services

251,785.8
274,129.6
285,608.4
290,030.5
332,601.1
409,062
438,107.8
469,181.5

Primary Income Balance

-31,002.2
-64,023.4
-62,127.9
-61,780.9
-88,086.3
-140,586.4
-124,840.6
-118,911.5

Primary Income Receipts

141,858.4
146,432.9
153,713.8
151,079.1
217,139.9
223,306.4
221,106.1
266,712.5

Primary Income Payments

172,860.6
210,456.3
215,841.7
212,860
305,226.2
363,892.8
345,946.7
385,624

Secondary Income Balance

-7,369.6
-7,738.2
-9,729.8
-5,772.5
-8,474.8
-9,992.6
-9,140.4
-10,117.4

Secondary Income Receipts

14,388.1
24,411.4
24,956.5
27,943.5
25,375.3
33,569.6
39,607.9
40,025.5

Secondary Income Payments

21,757.7
32,149.6
34,686.3
33,716
33,850.1
43,562.2
48,748.3
50,142.9

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.

47,346.3
61,933.6
92,663.9
-17,651
27,948.7
288,656.1
39,384
88,094.4

Financial Account (Net)

47,346.3
61,933.6
92,663.9
-17,651
27,948.7
288,656.1
39,384
88,094.4

Direct Investment

-51,050.5
-81,150.3
-50,960.2
-48,244.5
-97,627.7
-123,233.8
-125,613
-129,192.1

Assets

89,762.4
31,361.5
94,421.6
61,794.4
97,721.4
83,185.3
52,298.8
73,836.8

Liabilities

140,812.9
112,511.8
145,381.8
110,038.9
195,349.1
206,419.1
177,911.8
203,028.9

Portfolio Investment

28,896.3
71,754.8
148,839.1
81,691.6
98,932.5
85,128.2
131,468.5
105,108.6

Assets

63,375.2
53,661.4
157,238.7
76,668.3
117,717.7
119,492
135,804.7
144,986

Liabilities

34,478.9
-18,093.4
8,399.6
-5,023.3
18,785.2
34,363.8
4,336.2
39,877.4

Financial Derivatives

11,357
28,110.4
9,135.2
-3,996.4
-3,333.5
3,387.1
-1,889.3
2,409.7

Assets

-1,463.5
7,077.3
15,014.3
22,780.3
1,399.7
20,550.4
-1,073.5
13,244.9

Liabilities

-12,820.5
-21,033.1
5,879.1
26,776.7
4,733.2
17,163.3
815.8
10,835.2

Other Investment

58,143.5
43,218.7
-14,350.2
-47,101.7
29,977.4
323,374.6
35,417.8
109,768.2

Assets

103,320.8
142,986.3
59,706.6
82,811.4
123,249.2
350,610.3
15,094.6
201,308.3

Liabilities

45,177.3
99,767.6
74,056.8
129,913.1
93,271.8
27,235.7
-20,323.2
91,540.1

C Net Errors & Omissions

-3,102.5
-966.6
2,277.9
1,352.9
731.5
1,946.2
1,173.9
-525.5

E Reserve Assets

37,841.2
16,924.5
-11,442.8
103,316.5
88,907.2
-157,431.5
81,837.7
39,678.8
SOURCE : SINGAPORE DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS
Footnotes

For more information on balance of payments methodologies, please visit Singstat website (www.singstat.gov.sg/find-data/search-by-theme/economy/balance-of-payments/publications-and-methodology) to view and download related publications.

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

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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 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$m
3Q 2024
 7,844,213.8 7,779,664.5 6.4 6.5
*Direct Investment S$m
3Q 2024
 2,440,285,5 2,419,866.1 5.8 6.2
*Portfolio Investment S$m
3Q 2024
 2.658.240.9 2,599,379.4 14.0 11.6
Equity and Investment Fund Shares S$m
3Q 2024
 1,554,892.9 1,527,295.5 12.8 10.5
Debt Securities S$m
3Q 2024
 1,103,348.0 1,072,083.9 15.8 13.2
*Financial Derivatives S$m
3Q 2024
 251,250.0 236,169.1 -16.8 -25.1
*Other Investment S$m
3Q 2024
 1,994,713.7 2,020,539.3 1.3 4.4
*Reserve Assets 1/ S$m
3Q 2024
 499,723.7 503,710.6 8.5 12.4
Singapore External Liabilities S$m
3Q 2024
 6,725,783.6 6,667,453.3 8.7 9.3
*Direct Investment S$m
3Q 2024
 3,706,382.6 3,683,916.2 11.3 12.1
*Portfolio Investment S$m
3Q 2024
 798,026.5 756,027.1 19.9 13.9
Equity and Investment Fund Shares S$m
3Q 2024
 470,925.2 450,436.1 15.2 10.3
Debt Securities S$m
3Q 2024
 327,101.3 305,591.0 27.5 19.8
*Financial Derivatives S$m
3Q 2024
 280,571.8 265,550.9 -5.2 -13.8
*Other Investment S$m
3Q 2024
 1,940,802.7 1,961,959.1 2.4 6.6
Net International Investment Position S$m
3Q 2024
 1,118,430.2 1,112,211.2 -5.4 -7.9
#  Data are preliminary when first released. 
1  Assets held by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

International Investment Position

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

Million Dollars

Data Items

2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023

Net International Investment Position

1,039,215.2
1,165,151.4
945,449.7
1,224,484.7
1,445,099.1
1,358,457.7
1,195,962.7
1,133,453.8

External Assets

4,660,999.3
5,119,774.9
5,198,513.1
5,848,208.9
6,562,064.4
7,040,222.1
7,160,752.7
7,420,428.5

Direct Investment * Direct Investment refers to cross-border investment where a direct investor, residing in one economy, owns 10 per cent or more of the ordinary shares or voting power in an enterprise residing in another economy. The components of direct investment comprise equity investment (i.e. share capital and reserves) attributable to the direct investor and net inter-company lending between the Singapore enterprise and its related entities overseas. Direct investment statistics under the International Investment Position (and similarly the Balance of Payments) are presented on an asset/liability basis and are organised according to whether the direct investment relates to an asset or a liability for the country compiling the statistics.

1,203,055.8
1,416,322.1
1,339,645.3
1,609,977.4
1,886,429.7
2,109,407.4
2,203,280.8
2,363,312.6

Portfolio Investment

1,496,016.1
1,705,439.2
1,722,422.6
2,055,778.6
2,211,216.5
2,360,496
2,301,059.1
2,408,782

Financial Derivatives

130,213.4
100,428.5
132,946.4
162,464.3
202,534.8
180,775
298,486.2
239,455.1

Other Investment

1,475,460.1
1,523,591.1
1,611,403
1,644,206.1
1,783,043.3
1,826,204.9
1,969,670.5
1,945,834.5

Reserve Assets

356,253.9
373,994
392,095.8
375,782.5
478,840.1
563,338.8
388,256.1
463,044.3

External Liabilities

3,621,784.1
3,954,623.5
4,253,063.4
4,623,724.2
5,116,965.3
5,681,764.4
5,964,790
6,286,974.7

Direct Investment * Direct Investment refers to cross-border investment where a direct investor, residing in one economy, owns 10 per cent or more of the ordinary shares or voting power in an enterprise residing in another economy. The components of direct investment comprise equity investment (i.e. share capital and reserves) attributable to the direct investor and net inter-company lending between the Singapore enterprise and its related entities overseas. Direct investment statistics under the International Investment Position (and similarly the Balance of Payments) are presented on an asset/liability basis and are organised according to whether the direct investment relates to an asset or a liability for the country compiling the statistics.

1,655,824.5
1,902,111.5
2,078,084.9
2,342,814
2,649,123.4
3,006,412.2
3,128,881
3,471,035.6

Portfolio Investment

300,120.7
382,910.1
380,296.1
427,696.9
473,473.3
585,828.6
653,196.8
671,414.2

Financial Derivatives

124,054.4
101,303.1
142,417.6
161,843.8
209,083.7
207,936.4
295,862.6
251,617.8

Other Investment

1,541,784.5
1,568,298.8
1,652,264.8
1,691,369.5
1,785,284.9
1,881,587.2
1,886,849.6
1,892,907.1
SOURCE : SINGAPORE DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS
Footnotes

For more information on international investments position methodologies, please visit Singstat website (www.singstat.gov.sg/find-data/search-by-theme/economy/international-investment-position/publications-and-methodology) to view and download related publications.

Singapore International Investment Position, (End of Period), Annual

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External Debt

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 International Investment Position (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$m
3Q 2024
494,647.7
 488,982.6
4.5
3.7
Debt Liabilities of DIE 2/ to Direct Investors S$m
3Q 2024
352,631.3
350,308.2
-0.7
-0.7
Debt Liabilities of Direct Investors to DIE 2/ S$m
3Q 2024
40,170.9
40,901.4
1.2
2.3
Debt Liabilities between Fellow Enterprises S$m
3Q 2024
101,845.5
97,773.0
29.6
23.7
Other Liabilities S$m
3Q 2024
2,267,904.0
2,267,550.2
5.4
8.2
General Government S$m
3Q 2024
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Central Bank S$m
3Q 2024
7,751.9
7,975.2
-3.5
-1.2
Short-term S$m
3Q 2024
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Loans S$m
3Q 2024
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Debt Securities S$m
3Q 2024
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Currency and Deposits 3/ S$m
3Q 2024
-
-
0.0
0.0
Others S$m
3Q 2024
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Long-term S$m
3Q 2024
7,751.9
7,975.2
-3.5
-1.2
Special Drawing Rights (allocations) S$m
3Q 2024
7,751.9
7,975.2
-3.5
 -1.2
Loans S$m
3Q 2024
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Debt Securities S$m
3Q 2024
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Others S$m
3Q 2024
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Deposit-Taking Corporations S$m
3Q 2024
1,597,423.3
1,598,605.9
2.8
6.9
Short-term S$m
3Q 2024
1,409,972.1
1,422,127.6
2.0
7.1
Loans S$m
3Q 2024
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Debt Securities S$m
3Q 2024
55,935.9
49,263.7
27.2
13.8
Currency and Deposits S$m
3Q 2024
1,343,062.2
1,360,836.5
1.2
6.9
Others S$m
3Q 2024
10,974.0
12,027.4
-10.4
0.7
Long-term S$m
3Q 2024
187,451.2
176,478.3
9.6
5.4
Loans S$m
3Q 2024
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Debt Securities S$m
3Q 2024
25,008.7
22,417.9
93.5
55.7
Others S$m
3Q 2024
162,442.5
154,060.4
2.7
0.6
Other Sector S$m
3Q 2024
 662,728.8
660,969.1
12.4
11.7
Short-term S$m
3Q 2024
348,972.0
350,156.9
8.8
9.6
Trade Credits and Advances S$m
3Q 2024
166,601.8
166,564.4
5.7
7.3
Loans S$m
3Q 2024
138,238.6
144,186.1
14.0
13.9
Debt Securities S$m
3Q 2024
41,047.0
35,542.6
23.4
19.8
Others S$m
3Q 2024
3,084.6
3,863.8
-63.3
-51.6
Long-term S$m
3Q 2024
313,756.8
310,812.2
16.5
14.2
Loans S$m
3Q 2024
70,042.1
72,529.6
12.2
12.2
Debt Securities S$m
3Q 2024
205,109.7
198,366.8
23.3
18.2
Others S$m
3Q 2024
38,605.0
39,915.8
-4.5
0.2
Gross External Debt S$m
3Q 2024
2,762,551.7
2,756,532.8
5.2
7.4
Exchange Rate S$ per US$ (as at end-month) 4 / S$ per US$
Jan/25
 1.3552 1.3603 1.1 3.2 MAS
#  Data are preliminary when first released. 
1  With the implementation of the recommendations of the 6th Edition of the Balance of Payments and International Investment Manual (BPM6), Singapore’s gross external debt is now reported on a BPM6 format. The accompanying revision in the treatment of Asian Currency Units (ACUs) as resident units (which previously were treated as non-resident units) means that the coverage of Singapore’s external assets and liabilities has been expanded to include those of the ACUs, resulting in increases in both Singapore’s external assets and liabilities. While the expansion of coverage has resulted in higher gross external debt (or liabilities), it has resulted also in higher external assets. Singapore remains a net creditor, as the resulting increase in external assets is more than the increase in liabilities. More information may be found in the Occasional Paper on “ Implementation of IMF Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, Sixth Edition in Singapore’s Balance of Payments".
2  Refer to direct investment enterprise. 
3  Data are not released due to relatively insignificant value and/or in order to safeguard confidentiality of information provided by individual establishments.
4  Data on daily interest rates and exchange rates are available on Reuters, Bloomberg, etc.

External Debt

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

Million Dollars

Data Items

2022 4Q
2023 1Q
2023 2Q
2023 3Q
2023 4Q
2024 1Q
2024 2Q
2024 3Q

Gross External Debt

2,607,084.7
2,495,771.1
2,567,172.5
2,625,189.4
2,633,247.6
2,710,392.9
2,756,532.8
2,762,551.7

Direct Investment: Intercompany Loans

466,441.7
465,953.6
471,685.1
473,284.4
472,146.2
479,912.8
488,982.6
494,647.7

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

350,453.9
354,194.6
352,672.5
354,991
352,363.2
349,828.8
350,308.2
352,631.3

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

45,270.8
39,709.8
39,963.8
39,711.6
39,376.5
41,324.9
40,901.4
40,170.9

Debt Liabilities Between Fellow Enterprises

70,717
72,049.2
79,048.8
78,581.8
80,406.5
88,759.1
97,773
101,845.5

Other Liabilities

2,140,643
2,029,817.5
2,095,487.4
2,151,905
2,161,101.4
2,230,480.1
2,267,550.2
2,267,904

General Government

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

Central Bank

8,012.7
8,004
8,071.3
8,030.2
7,968.1
7,996.7
7,975.2
7,751.9

Deposit-Taking Corporations

1,547,945.9
1,446,036.1
1,495,770.3
1,554,017
1,572,952.5
1,602,733.6
1,598,605.9
1,597,423.3

Other Sector

584,684.4
575,777.4
591,645.8
589,857.8
580,180.8
619,749.8
660,969.1
662,728.8
SOURCE : SINGAPORE DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS
Footnotes

With the implementation of the recommendations of the 6th Edition of the Balance of Payments and International Investment Manual (BPM6), Singapore's gross external debt is now reported on a BPM6 format. The accompanying revision in the treatment of Asian Currency Units (ACUs) as resident units (which previously were treated as non-resident units) means that the coverage of Singapore's external assets and liabilities has been expanded to include those of the ACUs, resulting in increases in both Singapore's external assets and liabilities. While the expansion of coverage has resulted in higher gross external debt (or liabilities), it has resulted also in higher external assets. Singapore remains a net creditor, as the resulting increase in external assets is more than the increase in liabilities. More information may be found in the Occasional Paper on "Implementation of IMF Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, Sixth Edition in Singapore's Balance of Payments".

Singapore External Debt Statistics, (End of Period), Quarterly

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Definitions

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

Other References

Balance of Payments
Economic Survey of Singapore View
Experimental Estimates on Singapore’s Balance of Payments Services Trade by Modes of Supply 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