Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Philippines fell 27.8 percent to $498 million in March 2025 from $689 million in the same month last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Tuesday.
The BSP attributed the decline to lower net inflows across all major FDI components. Non-residents’ net investments in debt instruments dropped 31.6 percent to $329 million from $481 million in March 2024.
Net investments by non-residents in equity capital (excluding reinvestment of earnings) also decreased, falling 27.4 percent to $102 million from $141 million.
Reinvestment of earnings saw a marginal decline of 1.2 percent to $66 million from $67 million.
Equity capital placements in March 2025 mainly came from Singapore, Japan, the United States, South Korea and Malaysia. These investments were mainly directed into the real estate, manufacturing, financial and insurance, and administrative and support services industries.
The BSP said that for the first quarter of 2025, FDI inflows totaled $1.8 billion, a 41.1-percent drop from $3 billion recorded in the same period last year.
The BSP compiles its foreign direct investment (FDI) statistics in line with the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, 6th Edition (BPM6). FDI, by this definition, includes investments made by a non-resident direct investor in a resident enterprise, provided the equity capital constitutes at least 10 percent. It also covers investments from non-resident subsidiaries or associates into their resident direct investor.
FDI can take the form of equity capital, reinvested earnings, or borrowings. The BSP FDI statistics measure actual investment inflows, differing from investment data released by other Philippine government agencies.
