THE Philippines’ net external liability position expanded 30.3% from a quarter earlier at the end of 2022, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said late Friday.
According to preliminary data released by the BSP, the Philippines’ international investment position (IIP) was a net external liability of $40.1 billion at the end of December, up from the $30.8 billion deficit at the end of September and up 42.3% from the $28.2 billion deficit in 2021.
The IIP takes into account a country’s financial assets and liabilities.
The BSP said external financial liabilities grew 7% from a quarter earlier to $269.3 billion at the end of December. On a year-on-year basis, external liabilities fell 0.4% from $270.3 billion previously.
“The expansion in the country’s external financial liabilities quarter on quarter was buoyed by the 8% growth in foreign direct investments (FDI) and 10.8% growth in foreign portfolio investment (FPI),” the BSP said.
Net FDI inflows increased 8%to $113 billion in 2022, while FPIs stood at $82 billion.
The increase in liabilities outpaced the 3.8% growth in external financial assets to $229.1 billion at the end of December.
The end-December tally also decreased 5.3% year on year.
The BSP held $96.8 billion of the Philippines’ total external financial claims.
Among these financial assets, 42% or $96.1 billion came in the form of reserves. The claims also include debt instruments (17.5%), debt securities (13.7%), and equity capital (11.9%). — Keisha B. Ta-asan
