Israel is owed a record $158.3 billion in debts from countries around the world, according to figures published by the Bank of Israel and Central Bureau of Statistics on Monday.
This amount will be added to the BOI's foreign currency reserves, which as of early 2019 stood at $115 billion, such that the bank's "financial depth" will now stand at over $273 billion.
The sum provides a security blanket of sorts to help the country contend with potential local and global financial scenarios.
Foreign investment in Israel was also on the rise, the report said. In 2018, according to the figures published by the BOI and CBS, foreign investment in Israel was $20.5 billion. In 2017 the figure stood at $17.1 billion, while in 2016 foreign investments stood at $17.8 billion.
Between 2016 and 2018, the Israeli economy was injected with no less than $55.4 billion in foreign investments.
Israelis, for their part, also enjoy investing their money abroad, investing a total of $19.5 billion in other countries in 2018.
That figure, however, was far lower than in previous years. Israelis invested $26.9 billion abroad in 2017 and $27.4 billion in 2016.
