Cross-border investment soared in 2021: StatsCan

As they did for much of the year, foreign investors piled into Canadian securities at the end of 2021, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada.

The national statistical agency reported that foreign buying of Canadian securities reached $37.6 billion in December, which marked the highest level since the early days of the pandemic in April 2020.

The strong total was driven by investors snapping up $16.9-billion worth of Canadian stocks in the final month of the year.

StatsCan said shares issued as part of cross-border merger and acquisition activity was largely responsible for the increase in equity accumulations.

Foreign investors also acquired $20.6 billion of Canadian debt securities in December, including $12.8 billion in money market instruments and $7.8 billion of bonds — mainly federal government bonds, it noted.

Alongside the surge in offshore investment, Canadian investors added $21.3-billion worth of foreign securities in December, led by $13.4 billion of buying in U.S. stocks. Canadian investors also bought $6.3 billion in foreign debt during the month.

Overall, the increase in foreign buying generated a net inflow of $16.3 billion to the Canadian economy in December.

The high level of investment activity in December reflected a year-long trend, the agency reported.

“For the whole year, cross-border portfolio investment reached unprecedented levels, both in Canada and abroad,” StatsCan said.

Foreign investors acquired a record $217.8 billion in Canadian securities in 2021, which StatsCan said was “more than twice as high as the average annual investment recorded over the last decade.”

While foreign buying of government debt remained robust last year, acquisitions of corporate debt also more than doubled to $80.7 billion from $37.8 billion in 2020.

Additionally, foreign investors added $46-billion worth of Canadian equities in 2021, which was the highest total since 2017.

Offshore flows from Canadian investors also hit an “unprecedented” level of $165.9 billion, StatsCan said, noting that this was almost double the previous record of $84.7 billion.

“The bulk of the activity in 2021 targeted U.S. shares,” StatsCan said, as investors bought $95.1-billion worth of U.S. stocks, primarily large-cap tech stocks.

Investors also increased their holdings of foreign bonds by $52.5 billion in 2021, following a slight divestment in 2020.

The heavy cross-border investment activity resulted in a net inflow of $51.9 billion in 2021, which was down from $90.9 billion in 2020, StatsCan said.