Net FDI hits $473 M in May

MANILA, Philippines - Foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the Philippines reached $473 million in May as investors remained highly confident in the domestic economy, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said yesterday.

The figure was a turnaround from the $62-million net outflow in the same month last year, it noted.

“The improvement in FDI during the month was underpinned by the increases registered across major components,” the central bank said.

Investments of foreign firms in papers issued by their local units totaled $338 million in May, a reversal from a net outflow of $12 million a year ago.

Equity capital investments, meanwhile, amounted to $73 million during the month, also reversing a $117-million net outflow last year. The BSP said these funds, which came mainly from the United States, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Japan and Germany, were put into financial and insurance, real estate, manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and professional, scientific and technical activities.

However, the BSP said reinvested earnings reached $62 million in May, slightly lower than the $66-million figure in the same period last year.

In the five months to May, net FDI inflows surged 34 percent to $2.923 billion from $2.182 billion in the same period last year, “reflecting investors’ confidence in the country’s sound macroeconomic fundamentals,” the BSP said.

Placements in debt instruments jumped 75 percent to $1.888 billion “as a result of higher lending of parent companies abroad to their local affiliates to fund existing operations and business expansion plans in the country,” the central bank added.

Equity capital investments decreased nine percent to $708 million from $775 million, while reinvested earnings slid to $327 million from $328 million.

Bulk of the equity capital placements came from the United States, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan, the BSP said.

The BSP added these were mainly invested in financial and insurance; real estate; manufacturing; wholesale and retail trade; and mining and quarrying activities.