$299-M NET ‘HOT MONEY’ OUTFLOW

NAGTALA ang foreign portfolio investment ng net outflow na $299 million noong Abril, isang reversal mula sa $279-million net inflow noong nakaraang taon, ayon sa Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Kilala rin bilang ‘hot money’ dahil sa kaluwagan ng pagpasok at paglabas ng pondo sa merkado, ang gross outflows na $1.3 billion noong nakaraang buwan ay mas mataas sa gross inflows na $990 million.

“This may be attributed to investor reaction to the delayed approval of the 2019 national government budget and the damage caused by the 22 April earthquake that jolted parts of Luzon and Visayas,” paliwanag ng BSP.

“Investors also stayed cautious amid the lack of fresh catalysts in the market and ongoing trade negotiations between the United States and China,” sabi pa ng central bank.

Sa datos ng BSP, may 79.2 percent ng investments na naitala sa naturang buwan ay sa Philippine Stock Ex-change-listed securities, karamihan ay property companies, holding firms, banks, food, beverage and tobacco companies, at transportation services companies.

Ang iba pa ay napunta sa peso government securities, kung saan wala pang  1.0 percent ang nailagak sa peso time deposits.

Ang top five investor countries para sa Abril ay ang United Kingdom, US, Singapore, Hong Kong, at Luxem-bourg na may combined share na 84.8%.

Ang US ay nananati­ling main destination ng outflows, na tu­manggap ng  71.1 percent ng total remittances.