·         In the first quarter of 2021, the balance of assets held abroad by Israeli residents increased by approximately $27 billion (4 percent), to about $627 billion at the end of March. The increase derived mainly from an increase in the foreign securities portfolio as a result of net investment in equities and growth in reserve assets.

·         Outstanding liabilities to abroad increased by approximately $25 billion (6 percent) in the first quarter, to about $436 billion at the end of the quarter. The increase derived primarily from growth in the value of the portfolio of Israeli securities held by nonresidents as a result of net investment in bonds and net direct investment.

·         Israel’s surplus of assets over liabilities vis-à-vis abroad in the first quarter increased by approximately $1.5 billion (0.8 percent), to about $191 billion at the end of March.

·         The surplus of assets over liabilities vis-à-vis abroad in debt instruments alone (negative net external debt) decreased by $4.5 billion (2 percent) during the first quarter, to approximately $198 billion at the end of March.

·         The ratio of gross external debt to GDP increased by an anomalous rate of 2.5 percentage points during the course of the first quarter, to 35 percent at the end of March. The increase in the debt to GDP ratio reflected an increase of 10 percent in the balance of external debt (mainly investments by nonresidents in nominal bonds) and an increase of only 2 percent in GDP (in dollar terms).

 

 

Full press release, including graphs and data​

​Graph - Q1 2021 IIP.xlsxGraph - Q1 2021 IIP.xlsx