Foreign investment in Canadian securities reached a record-high of $49.0 billion in April, all in debt securities while Canadian divestment in foreign securities eased considerably to $134 million, following a record-level divestment in March, according to a report released Tuesday by Statistics Canada.
As a result, Canada’s international transactions in securities generated a record net inflow of funds in the Canadian economy of $49.2 billion in April, for a total of $120.0 billion since the beginning of the year, it said.
“Foreign investors acquired $54.0 billion of Canadian debt securities in April, following a $39.1 billion investment in the first quarter. April’s record foreign investment occurred against the backdrop of a surge in borrowing activities,” said the federal agency.
“In April, the federal government raised a total of $136.8 billion of funds from the issuance of debt securities. This overall borrowing activity led to strong foreign investment on the secondary market, as non-resident investors acquired $15.8 billion of federal government outstanding bonds and $10.2 billion of federal government money market instruments.
“Foreign investment in provincial government debt securities amounted to $5.3 billion in April, driven by new issuances of bonds, mainly denominated in non-US foreign currencies, and money market instruments on the international market. Private corporations, led by chartered banks and investment firms, issued a record $25.0 billion of new bonds abroad. A reduction in foreign holdings of Canadian private corporate paper of $6.4 billion moderated the overall inflow of funds in the month.”
