Philippines' net FDI slumps in October -c.bank

MANILA, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Net foreign direct investments into the Philippines slumped to $31 million in October from $311 million in the previous month as the global financial gloom kept investors at bay, data from the central bank showed on Monday.

The inflows were also lower compared to the $129 million posted in October 2007.

For January-October 2008, net FDIs totaled $1.4 billion, just over half the $2.6 billion recorded in the same period in 2007.

The central bank said in a statement that "investment decisions were stalled by foreign investors' concerns over the developments in financial markets, particularly in the weeks following the unfolding of the global financial crisis in late September."

Foreign equity capital posted a net inflow of $858 million for the first 10 months of 2008, down 55 percent from a year earlier, while the other capital account inflows -- mainly loans of foreign companies to local units -- dropped 54 percent to $186 million.

FDIs, along with remittances from Filipinos working overseas, are an important source of foreign exchange for the Philippines as they help keep the Southeast Asian nation's balance of payments in surplus.

The central bank had slashed its FDI forecast for the whole of 2008 to $2.6 billion from an earlier estimate of $4.2 billion, representing a 3.7 percent decline from 2007's $2.7 billion.

The central bank has not made an estimate yet for 2009.

(Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr.; Editing by Kim Coghill)