By Peter OBIORA InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said cross-border securities holding has increased to $40.2 trillion a 0.5 percent (0.5%) growth compared to $40.0 trillion reported at the end of December 2012, according to released results from its first end-June coordinated portfolio investment survey (CPIS).
The IMF said the December 2012 data was adjusted to exclude 22 economies that did not report semi-annual data. 56 economies submitted end June 2013 data compared to 78 economies that reported for end-December 2012.
According to the IMF, as of end-June 2013, 74% of total portfolio investment asset holdings (US$ 29.8 trillion) were concentrated in 10 economies, of which the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Luxembourg and Germany ranked in the top five (5).
The IMF said previously, the CPIS covered only end–December holdings. ‘’The increased frequency to semi-annual is one of a number of enhancements adopted in the end-June 2013 survey round.
In addition to more timely collection and release of the data, the enhanced CPIS collects a broader range of data on an encouraged basis, including on the institutional sector (such as central bank, other depository institutions, other financial institutions, and nonfinancial institutions) of the non-resident issuer of securities, and on the institutional sector of the resident holder cross-classified by the institutional sector of selected non-resident issuers,’’ the IMF said.
The Fund further affirmed that the coverage of the CPIS is augmented with information from two (2) other IMF surveys, namely securities held as foreign exchange reserves (SEFER), and securities held by international organisations (SSIO). ‘’These data sets are disseminated at an aggregate level only, as the data are collected on a confidential basis. From June 2013, SEFER is also conducted semi-annually,’’ the IMF said.
As part of ongoing efforts to address data gaps highlighted by the financial crisis, the IMF initiated the CPIS which is the only global survey of portfolio investment holdings, and collects information on cross-border holdings of equities and long- and short-term debt securities classified by the economy of residence of the issuer.
