Govt borrowings down in Aug – BTr
Credit to Author: MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO, TMT| Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2019 16:32:17 +0000
Borrowings made by the national government dropped to P76.52 billion in August, as it borrowed less from domestic and foreign sources, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).
Data released by the bureau on Monday showed the amount was a 42.91-percent decrease from P134.04 billion in the same month last year.
A reduction in borrowings means the debts the state needs to pay in the future would be smaller.
Domestic borrowings, which accounted for 38.77 percent of the total, slid by 49.01 percent to P29.67 billion from P58.19 billion a year ago.
The government raised P60 billion from the issuance of fixed-rate Treasury bonds but P30.33 billion were redeemed from Treasury bills.
External financing dropped by 38.23 percent to P46.85 billion from P75.85 billion a year ago.
The issuance of Japanese yen-denominated bonds has generated the government P45.25 billion, while it raised P1.59 billion from project loans.
Year-to-date, government borrowings rose by 44.33 percent to P916.27 billion from P639.26 billion in the same period in 2018.
Outstanding debt stood at P7.93 trillion as of end-August, P135.03 billion or 1.73-percent higher than the previous month from the peso depreciation and net issuances of both external and domestic loans, according to BTr.
The Treasury bureau earlier said the government would reduce its borrowings from local sources in the fourth quarter of this year.
October-to-December borrowings was set at P220 billion, down 4.3 percent from P230 billion in the third quarter and 18.5 percent from P270 billion in the same period last year.
Of the amount set, the government would borrow P100 billion through the issuance of Treasury bills and the remaining P120 billion through Treasury bonds.
Last year, the government borrowed P897.55 billion to creditors, a 0.4-percent decrease from P901.67 billion in 2017.