Investment

Foreign direct investment net inflows climbed 26% year-on-year to $611 million in March, BSP data show, lifted by equity, reinvested earnings and debt instruments from Japan, the US and Singapore — but the figure was the lowest in two months and follows a year in which FDI slumped to a five-year low, underscoring how fragile investor confidence remains amid geopolitical and domestic political turmoil.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index closed at 5,941.36 on June 10 and the peso weakened anew as the United States and Iran traded their heaviest blows since an April ceasefire, sending crude near $90 a barrel and pushing the mining and oil sub-index down almost 6% in a single session.

Vietnamese President and Communist Party General Secretary Tô Lâm arrived in Manila on Sunday for a two-day state visit, holding a bilateral summit with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at Malacañang on June 1 — the first Vietnamese head of state to visit the Philippines in nearly a decade — with both sides signing agreements on trade, agriculture, and maritime cooperation even as their overlapping South China Sea claims remain an unresolved backdrop.

On the final day of President Marcos' state visit to Tokyo, the Philippines and Japan announced they are elevating their bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership — the highest diplomatic tier short of a formal alliance — and formally opening negotiations on a General Security of Military Information Agreement that would enable classified intelligence-sharing between the two nations.

The upper chamber passes amendments requiring stricter reporting requirements and independent audits for the sovereign wealth fund.