Foreign direct investments hit $498 million in March 

Net inflows of foreign direct investments (FDIs) reached USD498 million in March this year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said in a report by Philippine News Agency.

Data released on Tuesday showed that the recorded net inflows during the month was down by 27.8 percent than the USD689 million in March last year.

FDIs include investments by a non-resident direct investor in a resident enterprise whose equity capital in the latter is at least 10 percent, and investments made by a non-resident subsidiary or associate in its resident direct investor. The latter can be in the form of equity capital, reinvestment of earnings, and borrowings.

The BSP said the decline in the FDI net inflows resulted in lower net inflows across all major FDI components.

In particular, nonresidents’ net investments in debt instruments declined by 31.6 percent to USD329 million from USD481 million in March 2024.

Nonresidents’ net investments in equity capital and their reinvestment of earnings also fell by 27.4 percent to USD102 million and 1.2 percent to USD66 million, respectively.

The BSP said equity capital placements primarily came from Singapore, Japan, the United States, South Korea, and Malaysia.

These were invested in real estate, manufacturing, financial and insurance, and administrative and support services industries.

For the first quarter of 2025, FDI net inflows likewise decreased by 41.1 percent to USD1.8 billion from the USD3 billion recorded in the same period last year.