Philippine FDI net inflows down 25.8% to $320M in September 2025 —BSP

Foreign direct investments, a key source of capital and employment generation for the local economy, saw a double-digit year-on-year decline in September 2025, data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Wednesday showed.

Central bank data showed that FDI net inflows stood at $320 million, down from $432 million in the same month last year.

It was also lower than the $514 million net FDI inflows seen in August 2025.

The BSP said Japan was the top source of FDIs, while manufacturing was the biggest recipient of FDIs during the month.

On a cumulative basis, FDI net inflows reached $5.537 billion in January to September 2025, down 22.2% from $7.118 billion in the same period last year.

“For the first three quarters of 2025, equity capital placements were sourced primarily from Japan, the United States, and Singapore. Industries that received most of these investments were manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and real estate,” the BSP said.

The central bank said FDI net inflows in the first three quarters of 2025 were equivalent to 1.6% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) during the period.

FDI includes investment by a nonresident direct investor in a resident enterprise, where the equity capital in the latter is at least 10%. It also includes investment made by a nonresident subsidiary or associate in its resident direct investor. 

FDI can be in the form of equity capital, reinvestment of earnings, and borrowings.

BSP said that FDI statistics are different from the investment data of other government sources as “FDI covers actual investment inflows,” in contrast with the approved foreign investments data published by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) which were sourced from investment promotion agencies (IPAs) which represent investment commitments and may not necessarily be fully realized in a given period. —AOL, GMA Integrated News