APD | Philippine foreign direct investments lower than 2017 level

By APD writer Melo M. Acuna

**MANILA, Jan.11 (APD) ** – Foreign direct investments (FDI) registered US$491 million net inflows in October 2018, 74.2 percent lower than the US$1.9 billion net inflows recorded in the same month in 2017.

In a statement by the Department of Finance released today, net investments of equity capital reached US$98 million, lower than the year-ago level of US$1.5 billion due to the big ticket investments in October 2017.

On a gross basis, placements of equity capital reached US$112 million, which mostly came from The Netherlands, the United States, Germany, Japan and Hong Kong.

These investments were channeled mainly to manufacturing, real estate, financial and insurance, electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply, and wholesale and retail trade activities, Investments in debt instruments consisting mainly of intercompany borrowings/lending between foreign direct investors and their subsidiaries/affiliates in the Philippines reached US$331 million from US$318 million in the same period in 2017. Reinvestment of earnings increased by 8.6 percent to US$62 million in October 2018.

On a year-to-date basis, FDI inflows for the first ten months of 2018 reached US$8.5 billion, an increase of 1.8 percent from the US$8.4 billion net inflows in the comparable period in 2017. Net investments in debt instruments grew by 18.6 percent to reach US$5.9 billion. Reinvestment of earnings expanded by 2.3 percent to US$677 million during the period. Meanwhile, net investments of equity capital declined to US$2 billion from US$2.8 billion in January-October 2017.

Equity capital placements during the period were sourced largely from Singapore, Hong Kong, the United States, Japan and China. These were infused mainly to manufacturing, financial and insurance, real estate, arts, entertainment and recreation, electricity, gas steam and air-conditioning supply activities.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)