Long-duration foreign investments in the first 11 months last year posted double-digit growth averaging 16.4 percent, which brought the total foreign direct investments (FDI) for the period closer to the year-ago aggregate.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported FDI last November alone totaling $464 million, which helped lift the 11-month total to $5.45 billion.
The net inflows last November was 16.4 percent higher than October’s $451-million net inflows. The central bank attributed the growth to “sustained investor sentiment” on the back of the country’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals amid volatile external-sector waters.
Total FDI net inflows for the first 11 months last year stood at $5.45 billion, down by 3.4 percent from $5.65 billion reported in the same period in 2014.
In December last year the central bank anticipated net FDI aggregating more or less $6 billion. This requires the Philippines to attract $550 million worth of FDI to hit the goal.
Aside from favorable business sentiment and confidence in the country, the BSP said the level of FDI is supported by positive domestic economic developments and the pursuit of various public-private partnership (PPP) projects approved in recent quarters by the national government.
All major components recorded increases from the previous year’s levels.
Contributing to the growth in FDI net inflows last November was the 26.6-percent expansion in the net placements by parent companies abroad in debt instruments issued by local affiliates—or the so-called intercompany borrowings—to $187 million from $148 million last year.
Net placements in equity capital, likewise, rose by 11.2 percent to $224 million, from $201 million the year before. This developed as equity-capital placements amounting to $234 million more than offset equity-capital withdrawals of $10 million.
The bulk of equity capital placements came from the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States.
By economic activity, equity-capital investments were channeled mainly to manufacturing; financial and insurance; real estate; wholesale and retail trade; and information and communication activities.
Meanwhile, reinvestment of earnings increased by 7.5 percent to $53 million. For next year, the projected FDI was seen amounting to $6.3 billion or higher than the anticipated volume, reaching $6 billion in 2015.
This, according to the central bank, was in line with the sustained positive developments in the domestic economy, some improvements in the global economic conditions, as well as the implementation of PPP projects awarded yet in 2014 and 2015.
In an economic bulletin, Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran said FDI were to post stronger inflows this year.