Taiwan World's 5th-Largest Net Creditor Economy

Taiwan's net assets value reached US$850.9 billion or about NT$25.48 trillion (US$849.33 million) as of the end of 2013, the highest ever recorded and up US$44.9 billion or 5.6% from a year earlier, thus making Taiwan the world's fifth largest net creditor economy, according to the central bank.

Last year Taiwan's external assets totaled US$1.4379 trillion, up US$131.2 billion or 10% year on year, due mainly to domestic banks' growing deposits in foreign banks and insurance firms' increasing purchase of foreign bonds and securities.

In 2013 Taiwan's external liabilities and claims surged 17.3% or US$86.3 billion year-on-year to US$587 billion. Deducting the liabilities, Taiwan saw its net assets value come to US$850.9 billion, next only to Japan, China, Germany and Switzerland, whose corresponding value stood respectively at US$3.1088 trillion, US$1.9716 trillion, US$1.8253 trillion and US$983.7 billion.

Among Asia's other three dragons, Hong Kong closely followed Taiwan with net asset value of US$767.6 billion in 2013 and Singapore ranked globally No. 8 with US$562.6 billion, with South Korea suffering net debt of US$36.8 billion.

In the same year the United States was the world's largest net debtor nation with liabilities of US$4.5775 trillion and Spain the second largest with US$1.3853 trillion. The followers in sequence were Brazil, Australia and Italy with respective net debts of US$764 billion, US$747.8 billion and US$644.5 billion. (JL)

World's Top-10 Net Assets Value Nations & Regions in 2013                           Unit: US$B.
Rank	Nation or region	Net asset value
1	Japan	3,108.8
2	China	1,971.6
3	Germany	1,825.3
4	Switzerland	983.7
5	Taiwan	850.9
6	Hong Kong	767.6
7	Saudi Arabia *	703.2
8	Singapore	562.6
9	Norway *	521.5
10	Holland	440.3

* indicating the figure at end of 2012

Source: the central bank