Taiwan Q2 current account surplus 4.98 bln usd vs revised 4.51 bln - UPDATE |
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Mon, 20 Aug 2007 09:58
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TAIPEI (XFN-ASIA) - Taiwan registered a current account surplus of 4.98 bln usd in the second quarter to June, up from a revised surplus of 4.51 bln a year earlier, the central bank said.The financial account in the quarter showed a net outflow of 7.17 bln usd, compared with a revised net outflow of 5.80 bln in the year-earlier period, it said.The original reading for the year-earlier current account position was a 4.70 bln usd surplus, and that for the financial account was a net outflow of 6.44 bln usd, it said.Meanwhile, the central bank said its reserve assets fell 1.89 bln usd in the second quarter, compared with a rise of 480 mln usd, or a revised 482 mln, registered in the second quarter of 2006.Reserve assets refer to external assets that are readily available to and controlled by the monetary authority, including monetary gold, foreign exchange assets consisting of currency, deposits and securities, and other claims.Under the second-quarter current account, both the values of exports and imports attained record highs for any given quarter, it said.Exports grew 6.6 pct from the year-earlier period mainly due to an increase in shipments to neighboring Asian countries.Imports rose 7.3 pct, led by a rise in inbound shipments of steel, iron, and other metals.In turn, the goods surplus increased by 0.01 bln usd over the same quarter last year to 4.88 bln usd.The services account deficit widened by 410 mln usd over the same quarter last year to 1.78 bln, mainly caused by a decrease in merchanting trade surplus and an increase in professional and technical services payments, the central bank said.The central bank said 'merchanting' involved Taiwan's purchase or import of goods and their subsequent resale overseas without the goods ever having entered the island.Meanwhile, income surplus increased 690 mln usd over the same quarter last year to 2.83 bln, mainly due to higher income earned from residents' foreign exchange assets and greater interest earnings from banks' offshore banking units (OBUs).The current transfer deficit narrowed by 170 mln usd from a year earlier to 960 mln.Under the second-quarter financial account, direct investment and portfolio investment recorded net outflows of 280 mln usd and 7.06 bln usd, respectively, it said.Portfolio investment abroad by residents registered a net outflow of 17.21 bln usd, the highest figure on record.The outflow was mainly attributable to a sharp increase in residents' investment in foreign mutual funds and higher portfolio investment abroad by local insurance companies pursuing higher returns, it said.Portfolio investment by non-residents recorded a net inflow of 10.15 bln usd, mainly because foreign investors increased their holdings in the local stock market, it added.In the first half of this year, there was a current account surplus of 13.63 bln usd, the financial account had a net outflow of 17.51 bln usd, and the central bank's reserve assets decreased by 1.52 bln usd, it added.philip.wang@afxasia.compw/kmqxfnpw/xfnkmCOPYRIGHTCopyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.
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