Gross FDIs hit $1.2-B, boosted by $404-M in reinvested earnings

Gross foreign direct investments (FDIs) from January to November reached $1.198 billion, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Friday.   In its statement, the BSP said the FDIs consisted of $550 million in new placements, $404 million in reinvested earnings, and $244 million in intercompany transfers.   There were, however, withdrawals amounting to $416 million, which brought the net inflows down to $782 million—38.5 percent lower than the $1.3 billion posted in the same months in 2010. The difference represents a non-resident investor’s transfer of shares to its resident partner in a mining firm.   The new placements of $550 million came mostly from the United States, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore and were invested mostly in the manufacturing, real estate, mining, utilities, financial services and wholesale-retail trade sectors.   Foreign firms already operating in the country expressed their confidence in the economy by reinvesting $404 million, which is $125 million or 44.8 percent more than the $279 they plowed back into their operations in 2010.   Intercompany borrowing from January to November between foreign direct investors and their subsidiaries or affiliates fell to $244 million from $516 million in 2010.   “The 52.7 percent decline was due to repayment of loans made by subsidiaries to their parent companies and higher trade credits extended to parent companies abroad,” the BSP said. — ELR, GMA News