BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno said yesterday foreign direct investments (FDIs) could recover by 2021 after inflows shrank due to the coronavirus pandemic.
FDIs could “go down” to $4.2 billion in 2020 from $7.6 billion the previous year, but it could recover to $6.6 billion by 2021, Diokno told ANC.
“We’re very optimistic…there will be a lot of foreign investors coming,” Diokno said.
FDIs registered net inflows of $311 million (P15.3 billion) in April, a 67.9 percent decline from $971 million the previous year, the BSP earlier said.
Diokno said the Philippines is past the “most difficult” quarter and is currently in the rebound stage. Gross domestic product contracted by 0.2 percent in the first quarter.
Second quarter numbers, covering the longer period of the COVID-19 lockdowns, are set to be announced on August 6. (ABS-CBN)
