By Tuba Sahin
ANKARA (AA) – Turkey's net international investment position (NIIP) showed a recovery in July, shrinking 16.1 percent compared to the end of 2017, the Turkish Central Bank reported on Friday.
“External assets recorded $229.6 billion, indicating a decrease of 1.4 percent compared to the end of 2017, and liabilities against non-residents recorded $620.3 billion, indicating a decrease of 11.2 percent, ” the bank said in a statement.
According to official data, the gap between Turkey’s assets abroad and liabilities — the NIIP — was minus $390.7 billion in July while it was minus $465.7 billion at the end of last year.
Showing a snapshot in time, the NIIP — which can be either positive or negative — is the value of overseas assets owned by a nation, minus the value of domestic assets owned by foreigners, including overseas assets and liabilities held by a nation’s government, the private sector, and its citizens.
Reserve assets went down 6.5 percent to hit $100.7 billion, while other investment rose 1.3 percent to $77.5 billion during the same period.
Currency and bank deposits, one of the sub-items of other investments, reached $34.9 billion at the end of this July.
On the liabilities side, direct investment — equity capital plus other capital — as of the end of July amounted to $141.9 billion, down 27.5 percent from the end of 2017 “with the contribution of the changes in the market value and foreign exchange rates, ” it said.
This January to July, the average U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate was around 4.22, while last year one dollar was exchanged for 3.625 Turkish liras on average.
“Total external loan stock of the banks recorded $92.6 billion, decreasing by 2.2 percent compared to the end of 2017, and total external loan stock of the other sectors recorded $111.1 billion, increasing by 2.8 percent, ” the bank added.
