The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reminded all stakeholders they only have until Dec. 14, 2012 to comply to a circular mandating  all inward foreign direct investments (FDI) be reported to the central bank.
Under Circular no. 743 issued Dec. 15, 2011, the BSP gave all stakeholders one year to comply before penalty is imposed against violators.
Circular no. 743 is a five-year prescriptive period within which requests for registration for inward FDI must be filed with the BSP.    
FDI is direct investment into production in a country by a company located in another country, either by buying a company in the target country or by expanding operations of an existing business in that country.
FDIs are done for many reasons including to take advantage of cheaper wages in the country, special investment privileges such as tax exemptions offered by the country as an incentive to gain tariff-free access to the markets of the country or the region.
It is common in economic zones and tariff-free areas such as Subic, Baguio, Cavite and Cebu. Direct investments are common in the country because of tax holidays, accelerated privileges and no-strike policy imposed in all free port zones.     
It is a direct contrast of portfolio investment or hot money which doesn’t enter into a country’s system but just to some selected industries such as bond market, government securities, stocks and bonds.
The period is reckoned from the date of inward remittance of foreign exchange (for cash investments) or transfer of assets to the Philippines.
BSP deputy governor for monetary stability sector Diwa Guinigundo said the mandate to require all FDI records aims to strengthen the central bank’s ability to capture, monitor and analyze important data.
“This is just part of BoP (balance of payments) reporting,” Guinigundo told The Daily Tribune.
Stakeholders are advised to proceed to the BSP international operations department to register.
Registration will be done on a first come, first serve basis provided all requirements are present.
After the deadline for registration lapses, no more registration will be entertained.