Foreign direct investment (FDI) net inflows rose for the third consecutive month this year, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
Data from the BSP showed net FDI inflows reached $686 million in March 2024, a 23.1 percent increase year-over-year.
The expansion was driven by nonresidents’ net investments in debt instruments, which grew 19.0 percent year-on-year to $465 million from $391 million in March 2023.
Nonresidents’ net investments in equity capital (excluding reinvested earnings) also rose 67.1 percent to $157 million from $94 million.
Reinvested earnings, however, declined 11.3 percent to $64 million in March 2024 from $72 million in March 2023.
Equity capital placements in March came mainly from Japan, Singapore and the United States. These investments were concentrated in manufacturing, financial and insurance and real estate.
This brought FDI net inflows to $3.0 billion in the first quarter of 2024, a 42.1-percent increase from the $2.1 billion recorded a year ago.