Phl 'hot money' inflows hit $323.75 M in April

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - Foreign portfolio investments, or "hot money," registered a net inflow of $323.75 million in April, the local central bank said today.

The Philippine central bank said the net inflow recorded last month was a turnaround from a net outflow of $91.5 million posted in March. The reversal was attributed to investors' confidence in the country's economy and strong quarterly corporate results.

"(Investors) ignored the possibility of a further cut in the US Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program," the local central bank said in a statement.

The bulk, or 76.7 percent of inflows in April, went into Philippine Stock Exchange-listed securities. The remaining 23.3 percent were invested in peso-denominated government securities.

Investments in the local stock market benefited holding firms, property companies, banks, telecommunication firms, and utilities.

The United States, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, and Luxembourg were the top investor countries in April.

In the first four months of the year, the Philippines saw a net hot money outflow of $1.96 billion, a reversal of the $2.21 billion net inflow recorded in the same period last year.