The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said net inflows of foreign direct investments (FDI) in the country fell to their lowest level in two months in April, but managed to rise year-on-year due to favorable foreign investor sentiment.

Net inflows surged by 114.4 percent to $679 million in the fourth month of 2021, compared to $317 million a year earlier, according to central bank numbers released on Monday. The amount is the lowest since February, when it was $608 million.

The BSP said in a statement that “FDI net inflows in April 2021 rose on the back of positive foreign investor sentiment on the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals and strong growth prospects.”

It added that FDI net inflows surged during the month, owing to a 121.2 percent increase in non-residents’ net investments in debt instruments to $500 million from $226 million in April 2020.

Non-residents’ net equity capital investments expanded to $97 million in April, up from $3 million a year ago.

“This developed as equity capital placements increased by 131.0 percent to $108 million (from $47 million), while withdrawals decreased by 75.1 percent to $11 million (from $44 million),” according to Bangko Sentral.

The majority of the equity capital placements came from Japan, the United States, and Singapore, and went to two industries: manufacturing and real estate.

Meanwhile, reinvestment of earnings fell by 6.2 percent to $82 million in April, down from $88 million a year earlier.

The latest total grew by 56.3 percent year-on-year to $3.05 billion from $1.95 billion in January-April 2020.

“The higher cumulative FDI net inflows was due to the improvements in all components, led by non-residents’ net investments in debt instruments, which rose by 115.2 percent to $1.9 billion from $897 million,” the central bank explained.

Net equity capital placements was higher by 8.1 percent to $818 million from $756 million.

The majority of equity capital placements during the four-month period came from Singapore, Japan, and the United States, and were mostly allocated to the following industries: electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning; banking and insurance; and manufacturing.