MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in the Philippines rose by fourfold to $597 million in April, the local central bank said today.
The increase was driven by multinationals lending money to their local subsidiaries and affiliates to fund the expansion of existing operations.
"The sustained increase in net inflows continued to reflect strong investor confidence in the country's solid macroeconomic fundamentals," the Philippine central bank said in a statement.
The bulk of foreign investments in April came from the United States, Japan, Singapore, Britain and Germany.
Foreign investments during the period were channeled mainly to activities related to real estate, financial and insurance, accommodation and food service, and transportation and storage.
FDI inflows in January to April reached $2.4 billion, 9.1 percent higher than the level in the same period last year. The Philippine central bank projected FDIs to hit $2.6 billion this year.