The foreign direct investment (FDI) net flow in the Philippines rose to 3.6 billion USD for the first six months of the year, up 76.9 percent compared to the same period last year, said the Central Bank of the Philippines (BSP).

In June alone, the net inflow hit 588 million USD.

The rise was due to higher lending of parent companies abroad to their local affiliates to fund existing operations and business expansion plans in the Philippines, reflecting investors’ strong confidence in the country’s macro-economy, according the central bank.

Most of the investments came from the United States, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong (China) and the United Kingdom, focusing on real estate, manufacturing, transportation and storage, mining, and administrative and supporting service activities.

The Philippines ranks fifth among all ten ASEAN member states in terms of FDI attraction with 3.86 billion USD in 2013.-VNA