Net foreign direct investment in the Philippines fell for a second straight month in January as the global financial crisis slowed foreign cash inflows into the Southeast Asian country, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Tuesday.

The country recorded net inflows of $13 million in January, 52 percent down from a year earlier, and much below the net inflow of $89 million recorded in December, which represented a 3.3 percent drop from a year earlier.

"Sound macroeconomic fundamentals have continued to attract FDI inflows into the country although at a lower level given the difficult economic conditions," BSP governor Amando Tetangco said in a statement.

There was a net foreign equity capital inflow of $54 million in January, 34 percent less than in the same month of 2008.

The remainder of the capital account, mainly loans by local units from their parent firms, registered a net outflow of $58 million against a net inflow of $34 million a year earlier.

Foreign direct investment, along with billions of dollars worth of remittances from Filipinos working overseas, are important sources of foreign exchange for the Philippines, helping keep the country's balance of payments in surplus.

The BSP has said it expects net investment inflows into the country to continue throughout the year and, along with remittances, bring the balance of payments surplus to $700 million by the end of the year.

Last year, the surplus fell to a four-year low of $89 million from a $8.58 billion surplus in 2007.