AUS
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CA
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Summary
- Canadians purchased as much as C$ 26.9 billion worth of foreign securities in the month of December last year
- Foreigners, on the other hand, invested just about C$ 5.1 million in Canadian securities in December.
- Canada also posted a record acquisition of US shares worth C$ 22.4 billion in December 2020.
Canadians purchased as much as C$ 26.9 billion worth of foreign securities in the month of December last year, a large chunk of which consisted of US shares, Statistics Canada pointed in a recent report. Foreigners, on the other hand, invested just about C$ 5.1 million in Canadian securities in December.
While increased international investments resulted in a net outflow of C$ 21.9 billion in December, the Canadian economy managed to draw C$ 87.1 billion in net inflow of funds on an annual level in 2020.
Record US Shares Purchases
December marked the eight month in a row of net purchases in terms of foreign securities investments for Canada. StatCan noted that nearly all of the total C$ 26.9 billion was invested in foreign shares.
©Kalkine Group 2021
Canada also posted a record acquisition of US shares worth C$ 22.4 billion in December 2020, most of which comprised of investment fund shares that track broad market indices in the United States. A major portion of the investment also went towards shares of large-cap tech and pharmaceutical companies.
Apart from US shares, Canadians invested about C$ 4.4 billion in other international shares in December. This purchase came after five months of divestment amounting to C$ 8.2 billion.
Foreign Investment In Canadian Shares Hit Record High
While international investment in the country’s securities stood at C$ 5.1 billion in December, foreign purchases in the Canadian stock markets hit its highest level of C$ 6.9 million since January 2019.
International share acquisitions were high in all major Canadian industries barring the banking sector. As per the S&P/TSX composite index, the country’s equity prices jumped in December to end year 2020 at a record high level.
Non-natives added about C$ 7.7 billion of private corporate paper to their portfolios in the last month of 2020, making it the biggest purchase since October 2016. On the other hand, foreigners cut down on their investments in Canadian government enterprise bonds by about C$ 6.9 billion, StatCan reported.
