MANILA, Philippines – Tumaas ang inflows ng foreign direct investments (FDI) sa unang buwan ng 2024 dahil sa bumuting investor appetite ng ekonomiya ng bansa.
Sa datos ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, iniulat na ang FDI noong Enero ay nakapagtala ng $907 million, tumaas ng 89.9% mula sa $478-million net inflows na naitala sa kaparehong buwan noong nakaraang taon.
Ang FDI ay tumutukoy sa daloy ng capital o investments sa isang bansa na ginagawa ng mga mamumuhunan sa ibang bansa, na nagrerepresenta sa international expansion activities.
Ito ay sa uri ng equity capital, reinvestment of earnings, at borrowings.
Ayon kay Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort, ang year-on-year improvement ng FDI noong Enero “may have to do with improved economic and financial markets performance in recent months, such as the easing headline inflation trend into the central bank targets that could support/justify Fed rate cuts and local policy rate cuts later in 2024.”
“Philippine economic growth is among the fastest in ASEAN/Asia and long-term US and local interest rates already eased from the immediate highs since November 2023, thereby encouraging more FDIs to come into the country amid favorable demographics and lower long-term interest rates/borrowing costs that help boost investments globally, including FDIs into the country,” sinabi pa ni Ricafort.
Sinabi ng BSP na ang pagtaas sa FDI noong Enero ay sinuportahan ng 173.2% na paglago sa net investments ng mga dayuhan sa debt instruments na $820 million mula $300 million noong Enero 2023.
Samantala, lumago ng 16.4% sa $99 million mula $85 million year-on-year.
Ang top country sources ng capital ay mula sa Japan at Estados Unidos, na nagrerepresenta sa 69% at 19% ng investments.
Ayon sa BSP, ang top industries ng FDI ay mula sa manufacturing, real estate, construction, at wholesale and retail trade industries.
“For the coming months, possible cuts in the US/global/local policy rates later in 2024, if inflation remains well anchored within the inflation target of the central bank, could also lead to some pick-up in FDIs eventually… amid Philippine GDP growth that is still among the fastest in ASEAN/Asia would help boost investments/FDIs, as a new bright spot for the local economy and major source of additional jobs/employment, business activities, and other economic opportunities for the country,” sinabi pa ni Ricafort. RNT/JGC
