Philippine FDI inflows hit $1bn

Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in the Philippines rose by 5.3 percent on year to 1 billion U.S. dollars in January, the local central bank said Thursday. "This developed as investments in debt instruments and equity capital registered higher net inflows during the month despite the observed reversal in foreign portfolio investments," the Philippine central bank said in a statement. Foreign portfolio investments or "hot money" recorded a net outflow of 1.84 billion U.S. dollars in January. The central bank said net placements of foreign firms in debt instruments issued by their local affiliates went up by 7.3 percent to 687 million U.S. dollars, accounting for about 67 percent of FDIs in January. "This was due to the continued lending of parent companies abroad to their local affiliates to fund existing operations and the expansion of their businesses in the country, an indication of sustained confidence in the country's strong macroeconomic fundamentals," the central bank said. Net equity capital inflows also went up by 10.5 percent on year to 278 million U.S. dollars in January. The bulk of foreign investments came from China's Hong Kong, the United States, Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom. Foreign investments in January were channeled mainly to financial and insurance, wholesale and retail trade, real estate, manufacturing, and information and communication activities