MANILA, Philippines - Foreign direct investment (FDI) posted net inflows of $14 million in March, bringing net FDI for the first quarter of 2010 to $396 million, 19% higher than the year-ago level, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

The March figure was a 6-month low, and a reversal of the $258 million net outflows recorded in the same month last year.

For the first 3 months of 2010, the central bank said inflows were comprised mainly of inter-company loans availed of by local affiliates of multinational companies or foreign-based firms from the outsourcing and utilities sectors.

Equity capital registered a net inflow of $45 million during the period, 90% lower than a year ago, with risk-averse investors postponing major projects due to concerns over the euro zone's debt problems.

Top investors in the first quarter came from the United States, Switzerland, Japan, Netherlands and Singapore.

The BSP had earlier projected net FDI to reach $1.8 billion for 2010, slightly lower than net inflows of $1.95 billion for all of 2009. It has not announced any changes to its FDI forecast for the year.

Net FDI, portfolio inflows, and remittances from Filipinos working overseas help keep the country's balance of payments (BOP) in surplus.

The central bank expects the 2010 BOP surplus to hit $3.7 billion, higher than an initial estimate of $3.2 billion. The Philippines' BOP was in surplus of nearly $5.3 billion in 2009, the biggest in 2 years.