Foreign direct investments (FDI) in the Philippines plunged 56.3 percent from a year earlier to 1.1 billion dollars in the eight months to August amid the global financial crisis, the central bank said Monday.

For August net FDI inflows rose 58 percent to 128 million dollars, a central bank statement said.

The January-August total was significantly lower than the year-earlier level of 2.49 billion dollars, "partly reflecting the more challenging global financial environment," it added.