PH net foreign liability down to $66B in 2024

The Philippines ended 2024 with a lower net international position (IIP) of $65.5-billion net external liability, as foreign investments in the country declined faster than its assets abroad.

- By DERCO ROSAL

Preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that the end-December’s net external liability decreased by more than 10 percent from $72.9 billion in end-September 2024.

Such an improvement was “driven by a 3.4 percent contraction in the country’s external financial liabilities, which outpaced the 1.4 percent decline in external financial assets,” the BSP said in a March 31 statement.

IIP measures the gap between the country’s external assets and liabilities. External assets are Filipino investments abroad, while foreign investments in the Philippines are considered liabilities, as investors will eventually withdraw their profits.

A net liability position means that foreign investments in the Philippines exceed the investments made by Filipinos abroad.