Net inflows of foreign direct investments (FDI) in the Philippines fell 7.5 percent year-on-year to $1.3 billion in July 2025, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Friday.
The year-on-year drop was largely due to a 39.4-percent decrease in nonresidents’ net investments in debt instruments, which fell to $711 million from $1.2 billion in July 2024, the BSP said.
These consist mainly of intercompany borrowings and lending between foreign direct investors and their Philippine subsidiaries or affiliates.
The remaining portion of net investments in debt instruments are investments made by nonresident subsidiaries or associates in their resident direct investors. This is known as reverse investment.
Data showed that the decline in investments in debt instruments was tempered by a 450.6-percent increase in equity capital investments, which rose to $418 million from $76 million a year earlier.
Most of these equity capital placements came from Japan and the United States, and were invested into wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing and real estate.
Reinvestment of earnings also grew 14.3 percent to $139 million from $122 million in the same month last year.
Data showed that on a month-on-month basis, the $1.3 billion was higher than the $376 million recorded in June, breaking from the six-month low level of net FDI inflows.
The BSP said net FDI inflows in the first seven months went down by 20 percent from $5.9 billion to $4.7 billion.
BSP said its FDI statistics cover actual investment inflows, differing from the approved foreign investments data published by the Philippine Statistics Authority which represent investment commitments that may not necessarily be fully realized.
