‘Hot money’ registers third consecutive month of net inflows in January

Foreign portfolio investments or “hot money” registered a net inflow for the third consecutive month in January, data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Thursday showed.

This comes as the Philippines registered inflows worth $2.061 billion, and outflows worth $1.299 billion during the month, leading to a net hot money inflow of $762.82 million.

Foreign portfolio investments are also called hot money due to the ease with which the funds enter and exit markets.

This is the third consecutive month of net hot money inflows, after registering $278.11 million of positive inflows last December and $832.07 million in November.

“This may be attributed to investor optimism arising from the easing trade tension between the US and China and the decline in inflation alongside the increase in net foreign buying in PSE-listed shares in January 2019,” the central bank said in an accompanying statement.

According to the BSP, about 71.6 percent of investments registered last January were in PSE-listed securities—mainly holding firms and shares in property, banks, food, beverage and tobacco, and retail companies.

Meanwhile, 28.4 percent went to peso government securities and time deposits

The bulk or 74.7 percent of total inflows came from the United Kingdom, United States, Singapore, Norway, and Hong Kong. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News