'Hot money' plunges as 'ghost month' spooks investors

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - Portfolio investments posted a net outflow of $441.85 million in August as the so-called "ghost month" sidelined most fund managers, the central bank reported today.

Most Chinese investors usually hesitate to invest on the seventh month of the lunar year as this is believed to be the time when the gods open the Gates of Hell and allow the spirits - "hungry ghosts" - to roam the earth

The central bank added that portfolio investments, also known as "hot money", declined in August owing to worries over the US Federal Reserve's possible tapering of its bond-buying program and the shortened trading weeks due to holidays and weather disturbances.

The central bank said gross outflows for the month were higher at $1.4 billion from $868 million posted the year before. Only $999.28 million in foreign investments entered the country.

Investments in August were mainly in shares of stock listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange and peso-denominated government debt papers. The money invested in companies went to holding firms, property companies, banks, food and beverage firms, and telecommunications.

The main sources of investments were the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, Luxembourg, and China's Hong Kong.