By Katherine K. Chan, <\/b>Reporter <\/i><\/p>\n
NET INFLOWS of foreign di<\/span>rect investments (FDIs) into the Philippines declined by nearly 31% yr on yr in February, <\/span>the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas <\/span>(BSP) said.<\/p>\n Preliminary BSP data showed FDI net inflows fell by 30.99% to $590 million in February from $855 million in the identical month last yr.<\/p>\n Month on month, nonetheless, FDI net inflows increased by 33.18% from the $443 million recorded in January, marking the very best monthly level in three months.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cForeign direct investments into the Philippines posted net inflows of $590 million in February 2026,\u201d the BSP said in an announcement on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cAmerica was the leading source of FDIs, while corporations engaged in financial and insurance activities were the largest recipients of FDIs through the month,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n The lower February figure got here amid a 39.12% annual drop in net investments in debt instruments to $414 million from $680 million previously.<\/p>\n Investments in equity and investment fund shares, meanwhile, edged up by 1.14% to $177 million from $175 million a yr earlier.<\/span><\/p>\n Reinvestment of earnings likewise climbed by 11.94% yr on yr to $75 million from $67 million.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, foreigners\u2019 investments in equity capital aside from reinvestment of earnings stood at $101 million, 6.48% lower than the $108 million recorded in February 2025.<\/p>\n Equity placements declined by 24.49% yr on yr to $111 million from $147 million, while withdrawals plunged by 74.36% to $10 million from $39 million.<\/p>\n Analysts said cautious investor sentiment amid global geopolitical risks and still-elevated rates of interest likely dragged FDI net inflows in February.<\/p>\n \u201cThe year-on-year decline reflects how global investors have turn out to be more cautious amid wars, high borrowing costs, and uncertainty abroad, while the rebound from January suggests capital has not left the Philippines but is becoming more selective and timing-sensitive,\u201d SM Investments Corp. Group Economist Robert Dan J. Roces said in a Viber message.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Union Bank of the Philippines Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said global headwinds had taken a toll on investors\u2019 risk appetite and pushed them to defer overseas investments.<\/p>\n \u201cDomestically, moderating GDP (gross domestic product) growth and lingering inflation pressures have reduced the country\u2019s relative attractiveness by raising operating costs and tempering return expectations,\u201d he said via Viber.<\/span><\/p>\n The Philippine economy weakened for a 3rd straight quarter within the January-to-March period, with GDP growth slowing to a brand new post-pandemic low of two.8%.<\/span><\/p>\n Inflation, meanwhile, breached the BSP\u2019s goal for a second straight month. It stood at 4.1% in February and further accelerated to a greater than three-year high of seven.2% in March.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, beyond the quantity of FDI net inflows, Mr. Roces noted that it’s more crucial to trace whether such investments fund long-term initiatives, including infrastructure, digital services, manufacturing and provide chain shifts.<\/p>\n TWO-MONTH SLUMP Bulk of the equity capital placements through the period got here from Japan, the USA and Singapore, and \u201cwere channeled largely into the manufacturing, financial and insurance, and real estate industries,\u201d the BSP said.<\/p>\n Central bank data showed investments in equity and investment fund shares slid by 22.34% to $299 million as of end-February from $385 million a yr earlier.<\/span><\/p>\n Net investments in equity capital aside from reinvestment of earnings stood at $171 million through the period, down 12.76% from $196 million in the primary two months of 2025.<\/p>\n Broken down, equity capital placements fell by 18.07% to $204 million from $249 million a yr earlier, while withdrawals declined by 39.62% to $32 million from $53 million.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, nonresidents\u2019 reinvestment of earnings dropped by 32.28% to $128 million within the two-month period from $189 million a yr earlier.<\/p>\n Net investments in debt instruments likewise fell by 38.78% yr on yr to $734 million from $1.199 billion previously.<\/p>\n Analysts said the Philippines could begin to feel the heavier impact of the Middle East conflict on foreign investment flows in the approaching months amid elevated oil prices and chronic global uncertainty.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Middle East conflict could slow investment decisions if oil prices stay elevated and volatility persists, but unless it turns right into a broader global disruption, the larger effect could also be delays in commitments somewhat than an entire pullback in investor interest,\u201d Mr. Roces said.<\/p>\n The conflict within the Middle East, which has rattled global oil trade and damaged key energy infrastructure within the region since late February, stays unresolved.<\/span><\/p>\n Meanwhile, Mr. Asuncion said FDI inflows could regularly get better later this yr if financial conditions improve and inflation pressures ease.<\/p>\n \u201cMoving forward, FDI inflows are prone to remain subdued within the near term amid ongoing global and macroeconomic uncertainties, but could regularly stabilize within the latter a part of 2026 if financial conditions ease and inflation pressures moderate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the medium term, structural strengths comparable to favorable demographics, a resilient services sector, and continued investment reforms should support a measured recovery in FDI, albeit not a pointy rebound,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n FDIs check with cross-border investments by which a nonresident investor holds not less than 10% equity in a resident enterprise. These may take the shape of equity capital, reinvestment of earnings and intercompany borrowings.<\/p>\n The BSP\u2019s FDI data reflect actual investment flows. This differs from the Philippine Statistics Authority\u2019s approved foreign investment data, which represent investment commitments that won’t necessarily be realized inside the reference period.<\/p>\n The central bank expects FDI net inflows to achieve $7.5 billion this yr.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" PHILIPPINE STAR\/ MICHAEL VARCAS By Katherine K. Chan, Reporter NET INFLOWS of foreign direct investments (FDIs) into the Philippines declined by nearly 31% yr on yr in February, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said. Preliminary BSP data showed FDI net inflows fell by 30.99% to $590 million in February from $855 million in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":333229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[18494,2830,18087,19853],"class_list":["post-333228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-fdi","tag-february","tag-inflows","tag-slump"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=333228"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":333231,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333228\/revisions\/333231"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/333229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=333228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=333228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=333228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bworldonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260512FDI-1024x1022.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
<\/b>For the primary two months of 2026, cumulative FDI net inflows declined by 34.79% to $1.033 billion from $1.584 billion within the comparable period a yr earlier.<\/p>\n