ESWATINI’S FOREIGN ASSETS EXPAND BY 65.4%

MBABANE – At the end of April 2024, Eswatini’s net foreign assets expanded notably by 65.4 per cent from the previous month to settle at E10.1 billion.

This is according to the Recent Economic Development (RED) report, issued by the Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE) for May and April 2024. The reported indicated that the increase was registered in both the net foreign assets of other depository corporations and the official sector.  Net foreign assets of other depository corporations grew by a notable margin of 145.3 per cent relative to the previous month and 80 per cent year-on-year to reach E3.2 billion at the end of April 2024.

The improvement was a result of growth in the banks’ foreign investments. Net foreign assets of the official sector amounted to E6.8 billion at the end of April 2024, registering an expansion of 43.3 per cent month-on-month and 0.2 per cent year-on-year. Growth was mainly driven by the quarterly inflow of Southern African Customs Union (SACU) receipts at the beginning of April 2024.

Special drawing rights

Valued in special drawing rights (SDR), net foreign assets grew by 67.5 per cent month-on-month and 16.6 per cent year-on-year to close at SDR408.0 million at the end of April 2024.
Meanwhile, preliminary data indicates that gross official reserves stood at E9.6 billion at the end of May 2024, reflecting a month-on-month contraction of 3.4 per cent and a year-on-year increase of 11.1 per cent. The fall in reserves was largely on account of a net outflow of Rands from trades with commercial banks over the month under review. Consequently, the import cover fell from 2.7 months in April 2024 to 2.6 months in May 2024.

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