Foreign direct investment (FDI) net inflows to the Philippines reached USD529 million in February 2025, a 61.9 percent decline from USD1.4 billion a year earlier, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The drop, largely driven by base effects, highlights growing caution among foreign investors and underscores FDI’s role as a key barometer of the country’s macroeconomic stability and attractiveness to global capital.
The sharp contraction was led by an 85.9 percent fall in net equity capital investments, which dropped to USD108 millionfrom USD764 million in February 2024. Net investments in debt instruments and reinvested earnings also declined by 35.4 percent and 13.1 percent, respectively.
Equity capital placements during the month were mainly sourced from Japan, the United States, Ireland, and Malaysia, with the manufacturing, financial and insurance, real estate, and information and communication sectors drawing the bulk of these inflows.
On a cumulative basis, year-to-date FDI net inflows stood at USD1.3 billion, down 45.2 percent from the USD2.3 billion registered in the same period last year.
The BSP emphasized that actual FDI inflows—as opposed to approved investment pledges—reflect concrete investor confidence and serve as a crucial gauge of the country’s economic fundamentals, openness to international capital, and prospects for long-term growth.
