Foreigners buy record amount of Canadian securities in 2016

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Foreign investors bought C$10.23 billion ($7.81 billion) worth of Canadian securities in December, sealing a new annual record for purchases of bonds, stocks and money market paper, Statistics Canada said on Friday.

Net securities' investment from outside Canada in 2016 totaled C$161.28 billion. The previous yearly high was the C$127.69 billion seen in 2010.

In December, foreigners bought C$9.71 billion in stocks, most of it accounted for by purchases on the secondary market. Canadian share prices rose by 1.4 percent in December and 17.5 percent in 2016 as a whole.

Non-resident investment in bonds slowed for the third month in a row, dropping to C$2.36 billion on diminishing appetite for corporate bonds. Foreigners sold C$1.83 billion in money market paper, the third divestment in four months.

Canadians bought C$6.66 billion in foreign securities in December, purchasing C$11.67 billion worth of stocks while selling bonds and money market paper. In 2016 as a whole, Canadians bought a net C$13.79 billion in foreign securities, sharply down from C$60.24 billion in 2015.

($1=$1.31 Canadian)

(Reporting by David Ljunggren Editing by W Simon)