MANILA – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported a 4.4% increase in net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, totaling $8.6 billion from January to November 2024, compared to $8.2 billion in the same period of the previous year. FDIs are investments where a foreign entity holds at least 10% equity in a local company, and can include equity capital, reinvested earnings, and loans.
The leading countries contributing to these investments were Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Singapore. These funds were predominantly invested in sectors such as manufacturing, real estate, and wholesale and retail trade.
However, the monthly data for November 2024 showed a decline, with FDI net inflows dropping by 19.8% to $901 million from $1.1 billion in November 2023. This decrease was reflected across various investment types, with nonresidents’ net investments in debt instruments falling by 17.9% to $791 million, and equity capital investments, excluding reinvested earnings, plummeting by 58.9% to $35 million. Despite these declines, reinvested earnings remained stable at $74 million.
The BSP highlighted that the majority of the equity capital investments in November came from Japan, the United States, and Singapore, and were directed towards manufacturing, real estate, financial and insurance, and administrative and support services.