Net inflows of foreign direct investments fell 46 percent in November 2018 to $531 million from $982 million a year ago, dragged down by a drop in net investments in debt instruments, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Monday.
Data showed that net investments in debt instrumentsӉۢconsisting mainly of inter-company borrowings/lending between foreign direct investors and their subsidiaries/affiliates in the PhilippinesӉۢamounted to $333 million, down from $724 million in the same month in 2017.
Net investments of equity capital reached $137 million, down 31.9 percent from $202 million worth of net equity capital inflows in November 2017.
“Equity capital placements during the month were sourced largely from Taiwan, the United States, Thailand, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. These investments were channeled mostly to financial and insurance; electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply; manufacturing, and real estate activities,” the BSP said.
FDI net inflows in the first 11 months went down 3.2 percent to $9.1 billion from $9.4 billion a year ago.
“The lower net inflows was attributed mainly to the 28.3-percent decline in net investments of equity capital, which reached $2.1 billion in the first eleven months of 2018,” the BSP said.
Equity capital placements in the 11-month period mostly came from Singapore, Hong Kong, the United States, Japan and China. These were invested mainly in manufacturing, financial and insurance, real estate, arts, entertainment and recreation, and electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply activities.
Meanwhile, net investments in debt instruments grew 9.3 percent to reach $6.2 billion in 11 months from $5.7 billion in the same period last year. Reinvestment of earnings also increased 2.8 percent to $738 million.
The Bangko Sentral expects a record net inflow of foreign direct investments in 2018, surpassing the $10 billion net inflow in 2017, as the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals remain solid and strong.