1. The National Statistics Office (NSO), with the cooperation of the Central Bank of Malta (CBM), is responsible for the collection, compilation and presentation of both the Balance of Payments (BOP) as well as the International Investment Position (IIP) statements of Malta. Both statements are compiled in accordance with the international guidelines set in the sixth manual of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well as with the similarly-set methodological guidelines established by Eurostat.

2. The IIP is compiled periodically to show the position of foreign assets and liabilities, by instrument, at the end of a particular period. These are classified under Direct Investment; Portfolio Investment; Financial Derivatives; Other Investment; and Reserve Assets.

3. The IIP at the end of a specific period reflects the financial transactions, valuation changes, and other adjustments, denoted by instrument.

4. Different data sources have been used in the compilation of the figures presented in this release. The main sources used include enterprise transactions data collected by the Commissioner for Revenue, which are then complemented with survey data and other administrative sources.

5. As from 1 January 2008, following Malta’s entry into the euro area, a reclassification of the external reserves of the country has been carried out. For this reason, all cross-border claims that Malta has within the euro area, as well as all claims that the country has in euro-denomination, are no longer considered as being part of Malta’s reserve assets. In addition, similarly to what happened in other euro area Member States, Malta has transferred a fraction of its external reserves to the European Central Bank (ECB) in exchange for a claim on the ECB; being an intra-Eurosystem asset, the ECB is also not considered as part of the country’s external reserves.

6. Figures are not seasonally adjusted.

7. The data contained in this release is subject to revision. For an updated time-series which includes past data, please refer to the Statistical Indicators for this domain.

8. More information relating to this news release may be accessed at:

Statistical Concepts
Metadata

9. A detailed news release calendar is available online.

10. References to this news release are to be cited appropriately. For guidance on access and re-use of data please visit our dedicated webpage.

11. For further assistance send your request through our online request form.