Investments into equity securities do not involve the acquisition of a qualifying holding in the company. Investments into debt securities can be made into guaranteed or unguaranteed securities. Reserves - reserves of the central bank which under the Estonian monetary system are the reserves backing the kroon. Net investment position - the sum of external claims of all economic sectors minus the sum of external obligations. Portfolio investments and central bank reserves are traditionally treated as short-term, regardless of the real length of the terms.
Direct investments are due to their nature traditionally regarded as long-term.
External debt - the difference between the repayable external claims and external obligations of all economic sectors, that by their nature are debts . At the end of the first quarter of 1996 Estonia's economic sectors had 15.1 billion kroons worth of claims on non-residents. Most of the obligations fell under the category of direct and other investments. At the end of the first quarter of 1996, Estonian direct investments into foreign countries amounted to a total of 851 million kroons, being nearly ten times smaller than direct investments made by foreigners into Estonia . Direct investments abroad were mostly in the form of loan capital.