DOF cheers recovery in FDIs
The Department of Finance (DOF) on Thursday said the Philippines remained an appealing site for brick-and-mortar projects, as shown by the recovery in foreign direct investments (FDIs) during the first 10 months of 2021.
Moving forward, continuous mass vaccination and the enactment into law of pending bills allowing more foreign participation in the economy would be key to keeping investor confidence, DOF Chief Economist and Undersecretary Gil Beltran said in an economic bulletin.
Beltran noted that FDI flows in October 2021 almost doubled to $855 million from $430 million during the same month in 2020—in the midst of the most stringent COVID-19 lockdowns and the Philippines’ worst post-war recession.
More than just a year-on-year rebound, Beltran pointed out that FDIs in October of last year also exceeded by more than a 10th of the $764 million recorded in October 2019, prepandemic.
End-October 2021 FDIs grew 48.1 percent to $8.1 billion from $5.5 billion during the same 10-month period in 2020, and were over a fifth more than the $6.6 billion in 2019.
“Year-on-year increases in reinvestment of earnings and net debt instruments of 11.9 percent and 78.6 percent, respectively, mitigated the 5.2-percent decline in net equity capital investments [in October 2021]. Net equity capital investments for the period were primarily in the manufacturing, electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning, financial and insurance, and real estate industries,” Beltran noted.
For Beltran, “the continued year-on-year recovery of FDI during the first 10 months of [2021] suggests that the Philippines’ long-term prospects remain positive in the eyes of investors.”
