Long-duration foreign direct investments (FDI) continued to flow inward in July no matter the volatilities, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Friday.
FDI which are poured on so-called bricks-and-mortar enterprises in the country, breached the $4-billion mark to hit $4.008 billion in the first seven months of the year.
This was 56.1 percent higher than inflows in the first seven months of 2013, which aggregated only $2.568 billion for the period.
This also exceeded the government’s assumed FDI, totaling only $1 billion for the whole year.
The central bank attributed the continued rise of FDI this year to the “continued favorable investor sentiment on the Philippine economy on the back of the country’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals.”
In July alone, foreign direct inflows totaled $436 million. This was both lower compared to the previous month’s inflows of only $588 million and July 2013’s $549 million.
“This developed as all FDI components recorded net inflows during the month,” the central bank said.
In particular, net equity capital inflows during the month surged to $104 million, or more than tenfold from the $10-million level in the same month last year.
The equity capital inflows were traced to the 87.8-percent increase in equity capital placements compared to the slower 69.9-percent decline in equity capital for the period.
Bulk of equity capital investments in July was from the US, Sweden, the Netherlands, Taiwan and Switzerland.
These were channeled to financial and insurance; real estate; wholesale and retail trade; transport and storage; and agriculture, forestry and fishing activities.
Reinvestment of earnings also reached $58 million in July, growing by 11 percent from $52 million in the same month last year.
Investment in debt instruments posted a net inflow of $274 million, lower by 43.8 percent compared
to the level posted in the same month last year.