Philippine hot money sees $1.5B outflows in Q1

Foreign capital fled the Philippines in the first quarter of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic dampened investor sentiment.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported net outflows of $1.5 billion from January to April, with gross outflows of $5.2 billion outweighing gross inflows of $3.7 billion.

In March alone, almost $1 billion in foreign portfolio investments left the country, reversing a previous month's net inflow of $40 million and surpassing the $739 million outflow from March 2019.

The central bank attributed this trend to negative sentiment caused by the pandemic, geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran, ongoing trade negotiations between the US and China, and renegotiations of water concessionaire contracts.