The Maltese economy recorded an estimated net international investment of €1.64 billion at the end of last June, the National Statistics Office said.

It said in a statement that compared to June the previous year, total foreign assets last June increased by €0.98 billion.

Total foreign liabilities increased by €0.80 billion, resulting in an overall increase in the International Investment Position (IIP) of €0.18 billion. Malta’s total foreign assets abroad amounted to €48.69 billion.

Other Investment accounted for 53.5 per cent, while portfolio investment represented 42.9 per cent of total foreign assets.

The improvement in Malta’s foreign assets was mainly driven by a €1.47 billion increase in debt securities, primarily bonds and notes. This was partly offset by a €0.55 billion decline in other investment mainly due to a fall in loans generated by the banking sector.

Malta’s foreign liabilities were estimated at €47.05 billion. Accounting for 73.7 per cent of total foreign liabilities, other investments went up to €34.69 billion from €33.32 billion in June 2012.

The increase was mainly attributed to an increase in loans to the monetary authorities. Foreign direct investment, representing 24.3 per cent of total foreign liabilities, declined to €11.42 billion from €11.98 billion a year earlier.