Net inflows of foreign direct investments (FDIs) reached $6.7 billion in the first nine months of 2024, up by 3.8 percent from $6.4 billion in the same period last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Tuesday.
The BSP said the nine-month tally posted an increase despite the decline in September.
Data showed that FDI net inflows fell 36.2 percent in September to $368 million from $577 million in a year ago.
The September downturn was due largely to the 32.8-percent decrease in nonresidents’ net investments in debt instruments to $277 million from $413 million.
Nonresidents’ net investments in equity capital dropped 91.2 percent to $7 million from $83 million.
“This was mitigated slightly by the 3.6 percent growth in nonresidents’ reinvestment of earnings to $84 million from $81 million in September 2023,” the BSP said.
Bulk of the equity capital placements in September came from Japan, the United States and Singapore.
These investments were channeled mainly to the manufacturing, real estate, information and communication and wholesale and retail trade industries.
FDIs can be in the form of equity capital, reinvestment of earnings and borrowings. The BSP FDI statistics are distinct from the investment data of other government sources.
The BSP said its FDI data cover actual investment inflows.
The Board of Investments earlier said investment pledges registered with the agency surged by 44 percent to P1.58 trillion in the first 11 months of 2024 from P1.1 trillion a year ago.
This brought the agency closer to its P1.6-trillion target for the year.
The BOI said foreign investments reached P379.31 billion, with Switzerland leading this year’s tally with P289.06 billion, followed by the Netherlands with P40.59 billion, Japan with P14.67 billion, and South Korea with P12.72 billion.
Singapore, Thailand and the United States also contributed significantly.
Local investments accounted for P1.2 trillion.
