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