By Katherine K. Chan, A reporter
Total foreign direct investments (FDI) inflows to the Philippines fell nearly 40% year-on-year in October, as overall foreign investment in debt instruments declined.
Based on preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), net FDI inflows fell 39.8% to $642 million in October from $1.067 billion in the same month in 2024.
Despite this, October saw the highest monthly FDI level in three months or since the $1.271-billion inflows posted in July.
Month-over-month, revenue more than doubled (100.6%) from a five-year low of $320 million in September.
“Foreign direct investment in the Philippines generated an income of $642 million by October 2025,” the BSP said in a statement released late Monday. “Japan was the leading source of FDI, with companies engaged in financial services and insurance being the largest recipients of FDI during the month.”
The year-on-year decline came as total investment by non-residents in debt instruments fell by 50.7% to $437 million from $888 million.
However, this was offset by higher inflows recorded in other FDI sectors.
Investments in stocks and mutual funds jumped 14.5% to $205 million in October 2025 from $179 million in the same month last year.
Total investment by non-residents in equity, excluding reinvestment of earnings, stood at $117 million in October, up 17.1% from $100 million a year earlier.
Once discounted, equity inflows increased 10.7% to $135 million from $122 million last year, while withdrawals decreased 17.4% to $19 million from $23 million last year.
Meanwhile, reinvestment of earnings increased 11.3% year over year to $88 million from $79 million last year.
Ten Month Slide
BSP data also showed that net FDI inflows fell 24.5% to $6.179 billion as of October from $8.184 billion in the comparable period last year.
Investment by non-residents in stocks and mutual funds reached $2.110 billion in the 10 months to October, 14.5% less than $2.468 billion a year earlier.
Equity investments, excluding reinvestment of earnings, fell 29.8% to $1.022 billion during the period from $1.456 billion a year ago.
This as placements fell 16.4% year-on-year to $1.599 billion from $1.912 billion last year. On the other hand, cash withdrawals increased by 26.5% to $577 million from $456 million last year.
Most equity placements in the 10-month period came from Japan, the United States and Singapore.
“The industries that received most of these investments were manufacturing, wholesale trade and real estate,” the central bank said.
During that period, reinvestment by non-residents rose 7.6% to $1.088 billion from $1.011 billion.
However, net investment in debt instruments fell 28.8% to $4.069 billion in the period ending October from $5.717 billion a year ago.
FDIs account for the investment of foreign investors in local enterprises where they hold at least 10% of the equity capital, as well as the investment of a non-resident company or its affiliates in a resident direct investor. It can be in the form of equity, income reinvestment or loan.
The BSP’s FDI data includes actual investment flows, compared to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s foreign investment data that includes investment commitments that may not be fully realized over a period of time.
The BSP expects FDIs to reach $7 billion in revenue by the end of 2025.
