Opportunistic foreign-held portfolio investments were uprooted from placements in listed stocks and local currency-denominated securities in the first six months this year and repatriated to safer and more rewarding havens overseas, latest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data show.
The BSP on Thursday reported net portfolio investment outflows of more than $803 million in those six months, a reversal from year-ago inflows of slightly over $778 million.
This resulted from gross outflows totaling $6.19 billion against gross inflows of only $5.386 billion. This year’s gross outflows approximated the year-ago exodus totaling $6.41 billion and testament to the largely tentative stance the foreign fund managers hold the Philippines as an investment destination.
According to the BSP, the more than $888 million gross portfolio investment that fled the country in June this year were registered placements in stocks traded at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) totaling $700 million.
These were mostly equity stocks of property companies, banks, holding firms, food, beverage, and tobacco companies as well as telecommunications firms which are foreign favorites.
The balance of $190 million were placements in peso-denominated government securities, the BSP said.
It noted the return of foreign portfolio fund managers to the local investment scene as they invested a net of $1.23 million in June after having fled the Philippines for four months in a series or since February this year. In the same period last year, the foreign fund managers also collectively fled the country and took $342.19 million with them.
Gross portfolio inflows this year totaled only $5.386 million, sharply down the year ago gross inflows totaling $7.188 billion.
By law, fund managers unwilling to register their portfolio exposure in the Philippines are prohibited from tapping into the banking system for the foreign currencies they need to repatriate them.
It is understood they have the resources to do so sans the help of local banks, the BSP said.
