Malacañang said in a statement yesterday that foreign direct investments and the strong peso are boosting the country's economy.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the Arroyo administration continues to be upbeat over the report of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas that FDIs "recorded net inflows of US$357 million, or a year-on-year growth of almost 51 percent" in January 2007 alone, the Malacañang statement added. He said that "FDIs are markers of global confidence while the strong peso is the handiwork of Filipino excellence and patriotism exemplified by our overseas contract workers."

The BSP said that the growth in FDI last January "was boosted mainly by the net inflows from the reinvested earnings account which amounted to US$220 million, from only US$2 million last year."

This, as "foreign banks opted to retain their earnings in their local branches given the continued positive economic prospects," the BSP said. On Tuesday, the peso closed at a six-year high of P47.95.

FDI inflows are expected to "remain positive" the entire year, with investors taking advantage of the country's improving investment climate, according to the BSP, which pointed to the United States and Japan as the "major sources" of the FDI flows at the start of the year.*

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