EXPLANATORY NOTES
CONCEPTS, SOURCES AND METHODS
1 The conceptual framework used in Australia’s balance of payments (BOP) and international investment position (IIP) statistics is based on the Sixth Edition of the International Monetary Fund’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6, 2009). The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) publication Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia: Concepts, Sources and Methods (cat. no. 5331.0) is currently being updated to reflect the changes introduced to the framework in September quarter 2009.
SIGN CONVENTION
2 International investment position statistics follow the BOP sign convention, that is, credit items (such as income credits) are shown without sign and debit items (such as income debits) are shown as negative entries. For foreign liabilities, position data and any transaction that increases liabilities are shown without sign. A negative sign for transactions in liabilities denotes a fall in liabilities. For foreign assets, position data and any transaction that increases assets are shown with a negative sign. Transactions in assets shown without sign denote a decrease in assets.
TOTAL DEBT AND EQUITY LEVELS
3 Total debt levels shown for foreign investment in Australia (table 2) and Australian investment abroad (table 5) are recorded on a gross basis for liabilities and assets. Total equity levels shown for foreign investment in Australia (table 2) and Australian investment abroad (table 5) are recorded net of any reverse investment by a direct investment enterprise (affiliate) in its direct investor (parent). Hence, total debt levels for foreign investment in Australia (table 2) and Australian investment abroad (table 5) will differ from the sum of the debt instruments in table 2 and table 5 respectively, while the total equity levels are the sum of direct investment equity and portfolio investment equity in each case.
PORTFOLIO EQUITY LIABILITIES – TRANSACTIONS AND INCOME
4 Most portfolio equity liabilities are measured through a different process to other instruments and portfolio equity assets. This process allows the ABS to determine the levels of portfolio equity liabilities by country (table 2). The process does not provide information on transactions in portfolio equity liabilities (table 1) or income accrued on these liabilities (table 3) and results in the unallocated category being a significant proportion of the total.
INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION
5 The industry categories shown are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006 (cat. no. 1292.0). Industry statistics should be treated with some caution as they do not necessarily reflect the industry of the end use of the funds. First, the statistical unit (that is, the unit of observation and classification) generally consists of all enterprises in an enterprise group within a single resident institutional sector. The industry of this statistical unit, which may cover a broad range of activities, is determined on the basis of the predominant activity of the unit as a whole which may be quite different from the industry in which funds are used. Second, financial enterprises such as trading and merchant banks, may borrow funds as principals and then on-lend to clients in other industries
6 The industry tables in this publication are based on OECD requirements. However, the input data are compiled using ANZSIC. The table below provides the concordance between the two standards.
| OECD Requirements | ANZSIC06 Label |
| Agriculture and Fishing (Sections A&B) | Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing |
| Mining and Quarrying (Section C) | Mining |
| Manufacturing (Section D) | Manufacturing |
| Electricity, Gas and Water (Section E) | Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services |
| Construction (Section F) | Construction |
| Trade and Repairs (Section G) | Wholesale trade + Retail Trade |
| Hotels and Restaurants (Section H) | Accommodation and Food Services |
| Transport, Storage and Communication (Section I) | Transport Postal and Warehousing + Information Media and Telecommunications |
| Financial intermediation (Section J) | Financial and Insurance Services |
| Real estate, Renting and Business Activities (Section K) | Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services + Professional, Scientific and Technical Services + Administrative and Support Services |
| Other Services (Sections L, M, N, O, P, Q) | Public Administration and Safety + Education and Training + Health Care and Social Assistance + Arts and Recreation Services + Other Services |
| Not allocated | Unallocated |
| TOTAL | TOTAL |
CARE TO BE EXERCISED
7 Care should be exercised in interpreting country data. The country allocation of financial transactions and levels is based on the country of residence of the creditor in the case of Australia's foreign liabilities, or of the debtor in the case of Australia's foreign assets. The country of residence of the ultimate beneficial owner/recipient is not identified.
RELATED PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
8 Users may also wish to refer to the following publications which are available for free on the ABS website:
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