Foreign direct investment (FDI) net inflows into the Philippines dropped to $368 million in September, the lowest level in 53 months.
This marks a 36.2% year-on-year decline from $577 million, according to data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The September figure represents the weakest performance since April 2020, when FDI inflows totaled $314 million, driven by a sharp reduction in non-resident investments in debt instruments and equity capital, the BSP said.
Investments in debt instruments, primarily inter-company loans, fell 32.8% from the previous year to $277 million.
Equity capital placements plunged 53.4% to $82 million, with the largest contributions coming from Japan, the United States, and Singapore, primarily directed toward the manufacturing, real estate, information and communication, and trade sectors.
Withdrawals also declined by 19.7%, reaching $75 million, which caused net equity capital (excluding reinvested earnings) to drop 91.2% to just $7 million. Reinvested earnings saw a modest 3.6% rise, totaling $84 million.
Despite the poor showing in September, FDI inflows for the first nine months of the year increased by 3.8%, reaching $6.66 billion. This growth was driven by a 28.1% surge in equity capital placements to $1.79 billion, with notable inflows from the UK, Japan, the US, and Singapore.
Meanwhile, investments in debt instruments for the January to September period fell by 3.3% to $4.35 billion, while reinvested earnings dropped 4.2% to $949 million. Withdrawals declined by 8.5% to $434 million.
The BSP has set a target of $10 billion in FDI inflows for 2024, with expectations of $10.5 billion by 2025 as the government seeks to boost investor confidence and attract long-term capital.
