Valuation of Assets and Liabilities in FDI Position Data

• Pages: 43-43

Contenidos

• OECD countries.
• Other countries.

Page 43

7.1 In principle, all external financial assets and liabilities should be valued at the market prices prevailing on the date they are recorded in the FDI statistics. However, there are some recognized departures from the market-price principle. For direct investment, values recorded in the balance sheets of direct investment enterprises (book values) are often used to determine the value of the stock of direct investment. If these balance-sheet values are recorded on the basis of market prices prevailing on the balance sheet date, such values are generally in accordance with the market-valuation principle. However, if balance sheet values are based on historical cost or on interim, but not current, revaluations, such balance-sheet values do not conform with the market-valuation principle.

7.2 Table 7.1 shows the primary method used in 2001 and 1997 to value equity capital assets and liabilities in the inward FDI position data. Table 40 of Appendix I provides details by country for 2001 for both the inward and outward FDI position data, broken down into both equity capital and other capital. Table 7.1 indicates that while there has been a significant increase since 1997 in the number of countries that value their equity capital positions at market values, 59 percent of the 51 countries that compile inward position data still value these positions solely at book values.

Table 7.1. Valuation of Equity Capital Positions

Countries That Value Their FDI Equity Capital in the Inward Position Data Using:
Number of Countries	Market values	Book values
Total 2001 (61)	21*	36*
Total 1997 (61)	8	36
Change	+13	0
OECD 2001 (30)	10*	21*
OECD 1997 (29)	3	19
Other 2001 (31)	11*	15*
Other 1997 (32)	5	17

*Some countries value their inward equity capital position data using both market values and book values or a mixture of market values and book values.

OECD countries

7.3 Only nine OECD countries record both their inward equity capital positions and inward other capital positions at market values-Australia, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, the Slovak Republic, Sweden, and the United States. (In the case of Austria, estimates at market values are disseminated in addition to data recorded at book values. Sweden disseminates data on its equity capital positions at both market values and book values. The United States disseminates only aggregate data at market values...