FDI inflows surge 41.5% in January

Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to the Philippines surged 41.5% to $961 million in January from $679 million a year earlier.

This marks the highest monthly FDI since December 2019, before the onset of the pandemic.

The increase was mainly due to a significant rise in non-residents' net investment in debt instruments, which expanded by 116% to $535 million from $248 million in January 2020.

The BSP attributed this growth to investors’ optimism stemming from the gradual reopening of the economy and easing lockdown measures, as well as positive news about vaccine rollouts.