Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 1) — More foreign portfolio investments exited the country in May, a reversal of the entry observed the prior month, said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Friday.
Gross outflows of these investments, also known as “hot money” because of how quickly they enter and leave a country, amounted to $1.23 billion during the period. Gross inflows, meanwhile, stood at $965.62 million.
These yielded $270.42 million in net outflows for the period, swinging from the $1.35 billion net inflows in April. This figure is also worse than the $416.74 million net inflows in May last year.
Gross inflows or registered investments sank 55.7% month-on-month and 33.8% annually according to the BSP.
Majority of these investments were placed in Philippine Stock Exchange-listed securities in information technology, banks, property, holding firms, and telecommunications. The remaining went to investments in peso government securities, noted the central bank.
Meanwhile, gross outflows grew 50.1% from April’s level and 17.7% year-on-year.
The United States was the biggest recipient of total remittances, the BSP added.
