Foreign investments registered with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas through authorized agent banks yielded net inflows of more than $1 billion in July 2024 on rising optimism ahead of the expected interest rate cuts by the BSP and the US Federal Reserve.
Data from the BSP show that foreign portfolio investments of hot money recorded net inflows of $1.38 billion in July, a significant growth from $27.26 million net outflows in June 2024 and $961.58 million a year ago.
The July figure resulted from $2.43 billion gross inflows and the gross outflows of $1 billion. The gross investments jumped 133 percent from $1 billion in June.
About 71.3 percent of registered investments were in peso government securities ($1.73 billion), while 28.7 percent went to PSE-listed securities ($697.67 million).
Most of them were invested in banks, holding firms, property, transportation services, and food beverage and tobacco.
Investments in July mostly came from the United Kingdom; the United States (US); Singapore; Luxembourg; and Norway with combined share to total at 93.7 percent.
The BSP said that on a year-on-year basis, registered investments increased 54.3 percent from $1.58 billion in July 2023, while gross outflows also rose 70.6 percent from $614.93 million.
The $1.38-billion net inflows in July 2024 were larger than $961.58 million net inflows recorded in the same month last year.
This brought total hot money net inflows to $1.46 billion in the first seven months of 2024, up by 830 percent from $157.30 million net inflows noted in the same period last year.
Registration of inward foreign investments delegated to authorized agent banks by the BSP is optional under the rules on foreign exchange (FX) transactions.
