PHL foreign direct investments reach $80M in Aug.

The foreign direct investments (FDI) to the Philippines in August rose year-on-year by more than eight times to $80 million, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Wednesday. BSP Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr. said that the growth in the August's FDI could be attributed to the country's positive economic developments, which included the surprising economic growth of 7.9 percent in the first half of the year and reports of rosy corporate earnings in the same period. "These helped perk up investor sentiment," Tetangco said. The net inflow of equity capital totaled to $66 million, or a year-on-year increase of 187 percent, that came mostly from the US and Japan. The hefty inflows went to the real estate, mining and the information and communication sectors, according to the BSP. Reinvested earnings and other capital investments also posted net inflows of $5 million and $9 million, respectively. The influx of funds in the first eight months of the year amounted to $1 billion, a 38-percent decrease from the level a year ago. Gross equity capital placements for the eight-month period also slid to $412 million, or lower by 78.3 percent year-on-year. Last year, gross equity capital inflows were significantly higher at $1.9 billion mainly because of big-ticket investments arising from the privatization of a local power corporation and the acquisition of a number of shares of a local beverage company. Reinvested earnings however surged to $221 million in the January-August period from $18 million a year ago as investors continued to park part of their earnings in local firms. -- JE/OMG, GMANews.TV