Canadian investment in foreign securities remained robust at $5.7 billion in May, driven by strong maple bond issuance, Statistics Canada reported today.

Meanwhile, foreign takeover activity led to reductions in non-resident ownership of Canadian portfolio equities, resulting in an overall divestment of $3.1 billion worth of Canadian securities in May.

The divestment in May occurred after three consecutive months of strong investment in Canadian securities totalling $11.9 billion.

Canadian investors continued their heavy acquisition of foreign bonds in May — $6.1 billion worth.

The investment was concentrated in non-U.S. bonds as Canadians added $3.8 billion worth, with 90% denominated in Canadian dollars.

Since January 2007, investment in non-U.S. bonds has amounted to $17.3 billion, an increase of nearly $10 billion over the same period in 2006.

Investment in non-U.S. maple bonds surged to $13.8 billion between January and May 2007 from $7.6 billion between January and May 2006.