EXPLANATORY NOTES
CONCEPTS, SOURCES AND METHODS
1 The conceptual framework used in Australia’s balance of payments (BOP) and international investment position (IIP) statistics is based on the Fifth Edition of the International Monetary Fund’s Balance of Payments Manual (BPM5, 1993). This framework is summarised in the 1998 edition of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) publication Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia: Concepts, Sources and Methods (cat. no. 5331.0). This publication is available on the ABS web site.
SIGN CONVENTION
2 International investment position statistics follow the BOP sign convention, that is, credit items (such as income credits) are shown without sign and debit items (such as income debits) are shown as negative entries. For foreign liabilities, position data and any transaction that increases liabilities are shown without sign. A negative sign for transactions in liabilities denotes a fall in liabilities. For foreign assets, position data and any transaction that increases assets are shown with a negative sign. Transactions in assets shown without sign denote a decrease in assets.
TOTAL DEBT AND EQUITY LEVELS
3 Total debt levels shown for foreign investment in Australia (table 2) and Australian investment abroad (table 5) are recorded on a gross basis for liabilities and assets. Total equity levels shown for foreign investment in Australia (table 2) and Australian investment abroad (table 5) are recorded net of any reverse investment by a direct investment enterprise (affiliate) in its direct investor (parent). Hence, total debt levels for foreign investment in Australia (table 2) and Australian investment abroad (table 5) will differ from the sum of the debt instruments in table 2 and table 5 respectively, while the total equity levels are the sum of direct investment equity and portfolio investment equity in each case.
PORTFOLIO EQUITY LIABILITIES - TRANSACTIONS AND INCOME
4 Most portfolio equity liabilities are measured through a different process to other instruments and portfolio equity assets. This process allows the ABS to determine the levels of portfolio equity liabilities by country (table 2). The process does not provide information on transactions in portfolio equity liabilities (table 1) or income accrued on these liabilities (table 3) and results in the unallocated category being a significant proportion of the total.
CARE TO BE EXERCISED
5 Care should be exercised in interpreting country data. The country allocation of financial transactions and levels is based on the country of residence of the creditor in the case of Australia's foreign liabilities, or of the debtor in the case of Australia's foreign assets. The country of residence of the ultimate beneficial owner/recipient is not identified.
RELATED PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
6 Users may also wish to refer to the following publications which are available from ABS Bookshops. These publications are available for free on the ABS web site:
- A Guide to Australian Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Statistics (cat. no. 5362.0.55.001)
- Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia:Concepts, Sources and Methods (cat. no. 5331.0)
- Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia (cat. no. 5302.0) - issued quarterly
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