General view of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Building in Malate, Manila. FILE TMT PHOTO
Read it in the digital edition of The Manila Times.
Net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows rose 48 percent to $989 million in April from $667 million a year earlier, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Monday.
“[N]“FDI inflows rose after an increase recorded in all components, led by non-residents’ net investment in debt instruments,” the statement said.
“Equity placement also increased, mainly from Malaysia, the US and Japan,” the central bank added.
Funds mostly went to construction; real estate; professional, scientific and technical; and manufacturing industry.
As of the end of April, the net inflow of FDI from the beginning of the year to date amounted to $3.4 billion, which is 12 percent more than the $3.1 billion recorded in January-April last year.
“Total net FDI inflows increased mainly due to an increase in non-residents’ net investment in debt instruments,” BSP notes.
However, the “net placement of shares [other than reinvestment of earnings] declined over the period.
Placed shares totaled $517 million year-to-date, down 37 percent from the $823 billion registered a year earlier.
On the other hand, money channeled into debt instruments rose 35 percent to $2.58 billion from $1.91 billion.
Earnings reinvestment increased slightly over the January-April period, reaching $329 million from $326 million a year earlier.
