Moderate increase in direct investment assets

Date 18/02/2005

REVISED VERSION

• Increase in income on Swedish assets abroad amounts to SEK 25 billion.
  
• Paragraph added on the survey's effects on the current account balance 2003.

The Riksbank's annual survey of direct investment, which is published today, shows that the value of Swedish direct investment abroad only increased by SEK 5 billion but the value of foreign direct investment in Sweden increased by SEK 40 billion in 2003.

The total value of Swedish direct investment assets abroad increased by SEK 5 billion during 2003 to SEK 1,266 billion. The largest assets are found in Finland and the United States and the highest increase in assets was in the chemicals, pharmaceuticals and banking sectors.

Income on Swedish-owned assets abroad in 2003 totalled SEK 122 billion, an increase of SEK 25 billion on the previous year. The largest income was generated by Swedish direct investments in Finland.

Foreign direct investment in Sweden amounted to SEK  1,094 billion, an increase of SEK 40 billion on the previous year. The increase was mainly due to large-scale corporate restructuring. By the end of 2003 the largest owners of direct investment assets in Sweden were companies in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Income on foreign-owned assets in Sweden totalled SEK 36 billion in 2003, which was SEK 4 billion less than the previous year. The largest change in income was generated by investments from the Nordic countries. The return on these investments fell from SEK 12 billion to SEK 3 billion.

The result of the survey entails a positive net contribution of SEK 86 billion to the 2003 current account. Thus, previous preliminary data will be revised by SEK 27 billion, further strengthening the current account.

An English version of the full report will be available next week on the Riksbank’s website, www.riksbank.se, under Statistics, Balance of Payments, Surveys.