Philippine net foreign direct investments drop 59.2 percent in June

Sep 10, 2007 - Net foreign direct investments (FDI) in the Philippines dropped 59.2 percent to 89 million US dollars in June from the year-earlier period, central bank data released Monday showed.

For the first half of the year, however, net FDIs posted a 16-percent increase to 1.2 billion dollars. That was despite the repayment by local subsidiaries of loans to their parent companies abroad, the central bank said in a statement.

The figure reflects increased equity capital inflows, which came mostly from the US, Japan, Singapore and South Korea, it said.

Central bank governor Amando Tetangco Jr said the business climate in the Philippines remains conducive to investors.

"The macroeconomic gains realized in the first semester, such as the strong external payments position, decelerating inflation, and the robust second-quarter GDP growth are expected to provide more confidence-boosting support to the country's investment landscape," he said.