Foreign direct investments down by 59% in February

MANILA, Philippines — Long-term foreign direct investments (FDI) in the Philippines declined by 59 percent last February amid the shifting preference of foreign fund managers in favor of richer countries, data released Monday showed.

In a statement, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said FDIs in February fell to $350 million, driven by a 75.3-percent decline in new investments in equity capital. Reinvested earnings of foreign companies already operating in the country also fell by 85.4 percent in the same period.

This brought the year-to-date inflows of FDIs to P1.377 billion, down 24.7 percent from the same month in 2013.

FDIs are considered more long-lasting investments as these funds are usually used to fund new ventures by foreign companies in the Philippines, or the expansion of multinationals already operating in the country.

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