Philippine FDI hits USD 7.8 billion in 2025

Foreign direct investment net inflows into the Philippines reached USD 560 million in December 2025, bringing the full-year total to USD 7.8 billion, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas)

The December figure marked a 31.2% increase from USD 427 million in December 2024, even as the January–December 2025 tally of USD 7.791 billion was 17.1% lower than the USD 9.398 billion recorded in 2024, based on BSP data.

The BSP said Japan was the leading source of foreign direct investments in December 2025, while most of the month’s inflows went to financial and insurance activities.

For the full year, equity capital placements came mainly from Japan, the United States, Singapore, and South Korea, and were channeled largely into manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and financial and insurance activities, the central bank said.

December’s USD 560 million net inflow consisted of USD 260 million in equity and investment fund shares, USD 180 million in net equity capital other than reinvestment of earnings, USD 80 million in reinvested earnings, and USD 300 million in net debt instruments.

Within the December equity component, placements reached USD 243 million, while withdrawals totaled USD 64 million.

The BSP’s year-on-year table showed that, in December alone, net equity capital other than reinvestment of earnings surged 802.8%, reinvested earnings rose 2.7%, and net debt instruments fell 8.7% from a year earlier.

For the full year of 2025, total net foreign direct investment inflows of USD 7.791 billion were made up of USD 1.324 billion in net equity capital other than reinvestment of earnings, USD 1.198 billion in reinvested earnings, and USD 5.269 billion in net debt instruments.

That compared with 2024 levels of USD 1.008 billion in net equity capital other than reinvestment of earnings, USD 1.170 billion in reinvested earnings, and USD 7.221 billion in net debt instruments, for a total of USD 9.398 billion.

The 2025 full-year net equity figure came from gross placements of USD 1.984 billion and withdrawals of USD 660 million.

Historically, BSP data showed net FDI inflows stood at USD 11.983 billion in 2021, USD 9.492 billion in 2022, USD 8.925 billion in 2023, USD 9.398 billion in 2024, and USD 7.791 billion in 2025.

The BSP said its FDI statistics follow the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, 6th Edition, or BPM6, under which foreign direct investment includes a nonresident investor’s stake of at least 10% in a resident enterprise, as well as investments by nonresident subsidiaries or associates in their resident direct investors.

The central bank added that its FDI data reflect actual inflows, unlike approved foreign investment figures published by the Philippine Statistics Authority, which are based on investment commitments from promotion agencies and may not be fully realized within a given period.

The BSP also noted that its data are presented in net terms, meaning equity capital placements are measured after deducting withdrawals, while PSA investment approvals do not account for those withdrawals.

That distinction matters because FDI is widely tracked as a measure of investor confidence, long-term capital formation, and the capacity of the economy to attract stable external financing.