In what analysts consider another blow to the local economy, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas announced that foreign direct investments in the Philippines dropped by more than 50% in the first three months of the year. The central bank said the country attracted just $851 million in first quarter from $1.715 billion a year earlier, AsiaFrist reported. In March alone, the FDI weakened sharply to only $229 million from February’s $359 million. In January, the FDI was only $263m, the BSP data showed. No clear reasons were given for the sharp decline in the country’s FDI but the BSP said the drop corresponds with a very volatile period in the global economy. The country’s gross domestic product slowed to 5.2% in Q1, the slowest growth rate since the 3.7% expansion in Q4 of 2011. Meanwhile, per capita income is expected to top $3,000 in nominal terms for the first time in 2015, a milestone that opens more opportunities in such sectors as real estate, banking, automotive and retail.
