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NET
foreign direct investments posted a net inflow of $419
million in July, a reversal of the net outflow of $79
million last year.
This
brought the net FDI inflows for the first seven months
to $1.6 billion, higher by almost 70 percent compared
with the level recorded in the same period last year.
The
substantial improvement in net FDI flows in July was due
mainly to the almost fourfold increase in the net inflow
in the “other capital account” to $345 million.
These
transactions pertain largely to intercompany lending
between foreign direct investors and their
subsidiaries/affiliates in the Philippines.
Foreign-equity capital investments also reversed to a
net inflow of $80 million in July from a net outflow of
$192 million a year ago.
Year-to-date, the strong FDI performance was traced to
the marked improvement in net foreign-equity capital
inflows to $1.7 billion from only $589 million in the
comparable period last year.
In
particular, gross equity capital placements summed up to
$1.8 billion, with these inflows channeled mostly to the
manufacturing (electronics, health and chemical
products, garments, food, automotive sensors,
decorative crafts), services (international courier,
information-technology development, multimedia service
provider), construction, mining, real estate, financial
intermediation, and agricultural industries.
Major
investors came from the US, Japan, Singapore, South
Korea and Hong Kong.
The
reinvested earnings account was also in surplus at $14
million during the January to July period.
Meanwhile, the other capital account shifted to a net
outflow of $27 million for the first seven months of
2007 from a surplus of $236 million a year ago,
following the settlement by local subsidiaries of their
loans to their mother companies.
It is
expected that the continued solid performance of the
economy and the improvement in underlying economic
policies will encourage more foreign direct investments
in the medium term. |
