Capital inflows rise in RP

Capital inflows rise in RP

MANILA: Short-term capital flows into the Philippines rose 4.0
percent from a year earlier to US$421.1 million in the nine
months to September as the government took steps to address its
ballooning debt, the central bank said on Monday.

The figure for net portfolio inflows included $78.3 million in
September, the highest for the year.

"This may be attributed to the positive investor reaction to
the government's efforts to address the fiscal problem, the
upgrading of the economic growth forecast, and the retention of
the central bank's policy rates," central bank officer-in-charge
Armando Suratos said in a statement.

President Gloria Arroyo has acknowledged that government
reliance on debt to plug chronic budget deficits was
unsustainable and could lead to what she described as "painful
economic death." -- AFP