Net ‘hot money’ outflows hit $352M in April, up from $70M in March

MANILA  -The outward flow of short-term foreign investments or “hot money” that were registered with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas increased to $352 million in April from $70 million in March, and reversed from net inflows of $1.4 billion in April last year.

This was the third month in a row of net outflows starting with $531 million in February, which followed four straight months of net inflows.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said in a statement that in April, $713 million of BSP-registered foreign investments flowed in while $1.1 billion flowed out.

Gross outflows were 20 percent lower than the $1.3 billion recorded in March. About 71 percent of the amount went to the United States.

Meanwhile, gross inflows were also lower by 43 percent compared to $1.3 billion in March.

Of the inflows in April, 57 percent was invested in Philippine Stock Exchange-listed shares while 43 went to government securities.

For inflows into PSE-listed securities, these mainly went to shares in companies that are engaged in banking and operating as holding firms as well as those in the business of property; food; beverage and tobacco; and transportation services.

The bulk of the inflows came from the United Kingdom, United States, Singapore, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, and Norway.

Further, the latest data brought the January-April balance to net outflows of $680 million, also a reversal from net inflows of $1.4 billion in the same four months of 2022.