Net ‘hot money’ inflow passes $2B

Net "hot money" inflow hits $2.007 billion as of Sept. 2 this year, 14.4 times the $139.1-million net inflow recorded in the same period last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported over the weekend.

The latest figure was also 4.1 times the $468.8 million inflow recorded for the whole of 2004.

For the week ending Sept. 2, new inward inflow registered with the BSP totaled $62.4 million with Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE)-listed securities accounting for the bulk at $50.6 million.

Capital repatriation/outflows, on the other hand, amounted to $46.3 million, of which $26.4 million came from the sale of listed securities; $10 million from withdrawals of peso deposits; and $9.9 million from the sale of government securities.

BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said there are several factors that helped boost investor confidence during the week.

Tetangco said among these important developments are: the Supreme Court ruling on the legality of the expanded value-added tax (EVAT) law, the 4.8 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate during the second quarter and the forecast of a slowdown in the inflation rate in August.

The interest of foreign investors in Philippine portfolio investment instruments, Tetangco said, has also been sustained by the generally positive first semester corporate profit results and sound economic fundamentals.

The positive development, he said, came even as oil prices have been escalating and the political crisis has yet to be fully resolved.

During the eight-month period, foreign portfolio investments funded by new foreign exchange inflows that were registered by the BSP totaled $4.43 billion. This was 3.5 times the $1.26 billion registered in the same period last year. 

PSE-listed securities (primarily Fixed Rate Treasury Notes) had a 31.5 percent share. Peso bank deposits and money market instruments comprised the remaining 0.6 percent.