The Bureau of Treasury has disclosed that the national government’s debt has now attained the P6 trillion mark this September after the peso’s weakening against the US dollar.
Last month, the outstanding debt from local and offshore lenders of the government was able to reach P6.086 trillion, which is a 2.5 percent increase over the P5.935 trillion debt recorded September last year.
“The growth in domestic debt portfolio was a combined effect of government securities net issuance amounting to P19.79 billion and upward adjustment in the peso value of onshore dollar securities by P960 million due to the peso depreciation,” the Treasury said in a statement.
In August, the debt had also gone up 1.8 percent from the P5.98 trillion.
Moreover, in the last month, the Philippine peso had declined by more than 4 percent.
[ads1]
The peso depreciated sharply to 48.482 to $1 at the end of September, compared to 46.552 in August, said the Treasury.
Meanwhile, Treasury report said that the national government’s gross financing in August has gone down by 12 percent to P28.6 billion from P32.62 billion in total borrowings last year.
The government mostly borrowed from domestic lenders, which amounted to P27.2 billion, this is 7.2 percent lower from the P32.62 billion in 2015.
In addition, the government also borrowed from overseas lenders which amounted to P1.45 billion, this is 55 percent lower from the P3.28 billion financing in the previous year.
As Inquirer has reported, P3.9 trillion were debt securities from the sale of bonds and treasury bills. There were also P598 million in loans, P442 of which were assumed loans of Development Bank of the Philippines, while P156 million were direct loans by government agencies.
The external debt increased by 4.1 percent month-on-month, amounting to P2.18 trillion.
“The month-on-month change [in foreign debt] was attributed to the depreciation of the peso against the US dollar (almost P2 depreciation) and third currencies that raised the peso value of US dollar and third-currency denominated indebtedness by P86.91 billion and P2.39 billion, respectively. This offset the effect of net repayments amounting to P3.48 billion,” the Treasury said.
The Department of Finance had earlier advised investors not to be absorbed too much by the political noise that President Rodrigo Duterte’s statements are making.
Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez said, “Mr. Duterte remains fully committed to keeping the economy on its upward trajectory and making growth inclusive for all Filipinos.”
Source: (news.abs-cbn.com, business.inquirer.net)
[ads3]
