China's External Financial Assets at $4.126t

BEIJING, May 31 -- China's external financial assets expanded 19 percent from a year earlier to $4.126 trillion by the end of 2010, boosted by its increased foreign exchange reserves and overseas investment, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said Monday.

According to 2010 year-end figures on China's international investment position (IIP) released by the SAFE, the country's external liabilities rose 20 percent year-on-year to $2.3354 trillion, while net external financial assets increased 19 percent to $1.7907 trillion in 2010.

About 71 percent of China's external financial assets were its $2.9142 trillion of foreign exchange reserves, according to the SAFE.

China's $310.8 billion of direct investment overseas, $257.1 billion of securities portfolio investment and $643.9 billion of other unspecified investments made up the rest.

In terms of China's foreign financial liabilities, direct investment by other countries or regions in China totaled $1.4764 trillion, securities portfolio investment reached $221.6 billion and other unspecified investment stood at $637.3 billion.

China'a foreign exchange regulator, the SAFE, also revised China's IIP for 2009 in its statement on its website.

According to the statement, China increased its holding of gold to $48.1 billion in 2010, up from $37.1 billion in 2009.

Representing the difference between a country's domestically owned foreign assets and foreign owned domestic assets, IIP reflects the financial assets and liabilities of one country or region compared to other countries or regions.