PH foreign investments plunge 62%

Net inflows of brick-and-mortar foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Philippines amounted to $529 million in February, marking a steep 61.9-percent decline from the $1.4 billion recorded in the same month last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported.

- BY DERCO ROSAL

FDI net inflows last February were also below January's $731 million, which had shrunk by a fifth year-on-year.

In a statement on Monday, May 12, the BSP mainly attributed the sharp year-on-year drop in job-generating February FDI to base effects and a significant contraction in equity capital investments.

Net investments in equity capital (excluding reinvestment of earnings) by nonresidents plunged by 85.9 percent to $108 million, compared to $764 million in February 2024.