Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - The Philippines enjoyed a net inflow of so-called "hot money" in April, which reached US$673.8 million, or 221 per cent higher than the $210 million registered in the same month last year, as good yields on local investments and lower risks from fixed income securities continued to draw foreign capital.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank) said that April net inflows of foreign portfolio investment also exceeded the previous month's level of $245 million by 175 percent.
Gross inflows in April reached $1.03 billion, while the outflows amounted to $1.7 billion.
According to the central bank, the four weeks of April were characterised by positive flows except for the third week - which was Holy Week - when investors resorted to profit-taking in anticipation of the four-day weekend.
Last month's inflow put net inflows for January to April to $1.646 billion, or 177 per cent higher than the $594.86 million in the same period of 2010.
The BSP said this was due to a surge in investor interest in peso-denominated government securities, which reached $3.1 billion, or 628 percent higher year on year from the previous $419 million.
Most of these inflows were placed in government securities and shares of companies listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange.
The top five sources of foreign portfolio investments were Singapore, the United States, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg and Hong Kong.
Investments in PSE-listed shares for April reached $934 million, representing a 28-percent increase over the $728 million registered in the same month last year.
Major beneficiaries were holding firms, banks, telecommunications companies, property firms and utility companies.
Also, investments in domestic debt paper reached $687 million, a 280-percent growth from $180 million.
