Year-to-date FDIs at $892-B, down from $1-B as of end-May

MANILA - Philippine foreign direct investments (FDI) recorded a net outflow of $133 million, a turnaround from the $379-million net inflows recorded in the previous month.

"(The net outflow was) mainly on account of intercompany loan repayments to foreign direct investors," the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said in a statement released Thursday.

The latest figure brought the country's FDIs for the first 6 months of the year to $892 million, a huge jump from $605 million recorded in the same period last year. It was, however, lower than the country's 5-month FDIs at $1 billion.

Still, the amount was beyond the BSP's full-year target of $700 million.

Net equity capital for the 6-month period stood at $996 million. The BSP said gross equity capital placements for the first half reached $1.1 billion, more than twice the year-ago level.

"This reflected favorable investor sentiment given the emerging outlook on improving global economic conditions," the BSP said.

According to the BSP, these equity capital placements were made by investors from the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands, and were directed mainly to the manufacturing, real estate, construction, services, financial intermediation, mining, and trade and commerce sectors.

Reinvested earnings, on the other hand, reached $88 million as of end-June, a reversal from the $184 million net ouflow recorded in the same period last year. The BSP said corporate performance turnouts were better than expected, prompting investors to retain part of their earnings in local enterprises.

Meanwhile, other capital account reversed to a net outflow of $192 million in the first half from last year's $407-million net inflows. The BSP attributed this to higher trade credits extended to affiliates abroad as well as inter-company loan repayments to foreign direct investors.