Balance of Payment

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Sixth Edition of the IMF's Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual

Last Updated: December 2008

The IMF's Statistics Department has now released the Sixth Edition of the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6), which updates the fifth edition (BPM5) that was released in 1993. The update was undertaken in close collaboration with the IMF Committee on Balance of Payments Statistics (Committee) and involved extensive consultations with national compilers, and regional and international agencies over seven years. Like earlier editions, the BPM6 provides guidance on the recording of cross-border transactions and positions according to a set of internationally-agreed guidelines, and provides greater clarity and details on an expanded range of international activities that affect the IMF's member countries. The BPM6 takes into account globalization (for example, currency unions, cross-border production processes, complex international company structures, and issues associated with labor mobility, such as remittances) and builds on the growing interest in examining vulnerability using balance sheet data (for example, greater elaboration of balance sheet components). It also contains increased and updated guidance on new financial instruments and financial activities linked to innovation (for example, on the treatment of short positions, goods under financial leases, and financial intermediation services indirectly measured).

The new manual is expected to be made available in hardcopy in 2009 in English, with publication in other languages─Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish─expected to be completed during 2009-10. The revision of the Balance of Payments Compilation Guide and the Balance of Payments Textbook will be addressed in the future.

Harmonization with other manuals

The update of the BPM5 was conducted in parallel with the update of the System of National Accounts (SNA) to maintain consistency. The update also takes into account improved recording and methodological treatments contained in other manuals prepared by the IMF Statistics Department, including External Debt Statistics: Guide for Compilers and Users (2003), Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual (2000), and Government Finance Statistics Manual (2001). In turn, these manuals will be revised to reflect the revisions made in the BPM6 and SNA 2008.