By Muhammed Ali Gurtas
ANKARA (AA) – Turkey's net international investment position (NIIP) recorded a recovery in May, narrowing around 12.5 percent compared to the end of 2017, according to Turkish Central Bank (CBRT) on Wednesday.
The country's external assets amounted to $231.6 billion as of May this year, down 0.5 percent from the end of last year, while liabilities against non-residents totaled $632.5 billion, falling 8.6 percent over the same period, the bank said.
According to official data, the gap between Turkey’s assets abroad and liabilities — the NIIP — was minus $401 billion in May while it was minus $459.2 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.
The bank noted that reserve assets — a sub-item under assets — totaled $107.3 billion at the end of May, down 0.4 percent from the end of 2017, while other investments were $74 billion, down 3.3 percent in the same period.
Currency and bank deposits, one of the sub-items of other investments, dropped 10.8 percent to $31.2 billion compared to the end of last year, official data showed.
On the liabilities side, direct investment — equity capital plus other capital — as of May amounted to $139.5 billion, down 26.3 percent from the end of 2017 “with the contribution of the changes in the market value and foreign exchange rates, ” the bank said.
This January to May, the average U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate was around 3.98, while last year one dollar was exchanged for 3.65 Turkish liras on average.
“Total external loan stock of the banks recorded $94.4 billion, decreasing by 0.4 percent compared to the end of 2017, and the total external loan stock of the other sectors recorded $111 billion, increasing by 2.7 percent, ” the bank added.
