July hot money net inflows highest in 15 months

Hot money net inflows into the Philippines posted a 15-month high in July on the back of the double-digit growth in government securities and listed equities, data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Thursday showed.

Data released by the central bank showed that the hot money net inflows increased to $962 million from the $0.28-million net inflows in June, and a reversal of the $103.14-million net outflows the same month in 2022. This is also the highest since April 2022’s $1.407-billion net inflows.

Gross inflows for the month were recorded at $1.576 billion, 77.2% higher than the $889.44 million in June and up from $680.73 million a year ago.

Broken down, $996 million or 63.2% were in peso government securities, while 36.8% were in securities listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange, mostly on banks; property; food, beverage, and tobacco; holding firms; and transportation services.

The remaining investments — accounting for less than 1% — were channeled into other instruments.

The top five investor countries for the month were the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, Luxembourg, and Germany which accounted for a combined share of 85.7% of the inflows.

Gross outflows for the month were recorded at $614.48 million, lower than the $889.16-million outflows in June and the $783.87 million the same month last year.

The United States remained to be the top destination of outflows for the month, as it received $400 million or 65% of the total outward remittances.

This comes as the current administration — led by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. — continues to conduct roadshows across the globe to entice more investments into the country.

Malacañang in December said Marcos’ foreign visits in 2022 alone have generated $23.6-billion in investment pledges. He has since visited more countries including the United States where $1.3-billion worth of pledges were reportedly secured.—AOL, GMA Integrated News