The outstanding debt of the NATIONAL Government (NG) increased to a A new high of P15.89 trillion at the end of September, but the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said this level is still “manageable.”
BTR data on Wednesday showed outstanding debt increased 2.2% to P15.89 trillion at the end of September from P15.55 trillion at the end of August.
“Total outstanding debt saw a minimal increase of 2.2% compared to the level at the end of August 2024 due to the net use of new external and domestic debt,” the BTr said in a statement.
Year over year, the debt stock rose 11.4% from P14.27 trillion a year ago.
“Nevertheless, the NG’s strategic focus on local fundraising allows the government to limit its exposure to external risks to just 31.19% of its debt portfolio, while enabling the development of the local bond market and providing Filipinos with high-quality investment vehicles to grow their savings,” the NG said. said the Treasury.
The largest share, or 68.81% of the total debt burden, came from domestic sources.
At the end of September, outstanding domestic debt rose 1.3% to P10.94 trillion from P10.79 trillion in the previous month. Government bonds accounted for almost all of the domestic debt.
Year-on-year, domestic debt rose 12.3% from P9.73 trillion.
“This (increase) was mainly driven by the net issuance of new government bonds worth P145.11 billion, which was slightly lower thanFoffset by a P460 million decline in the value of US dollar-denominated securities due to the appreciation of the Philippine peso,” the BTr said.
Meanwhile, external debt rose 4.2% to P4.96 trillion at the end of September from P4.76 trillion at the end of August, the BTr said. It also rose 9.3% from P4.53 trillion in the same period a year ago.
The increase in foreign debt was due to the P200.89 billion in net foreign borrowings, including the P140.99 billion or $2.5 billion issuance of three-tranche U.S. dollar-denominated global bonds, BTr said. The transaction was Fended in September.
“Nonetheless, favorable exchange rate adjustments contributed to a substantial decline in total external debt by P2.43 billion.”
The peso closed at P56.017 against the US dollar at the end of September, rising 16.2 centavos from its P56.179. Fready at the end of August.
External debt consisted of P2.32 trillion in loans and P2.64 trillion in global bonds.
Broken down, government bonds consisted of P2.25 trillion in US dollar bonds, P215.23 billion in Euro bonds, P59.11 billion in Japanese yen bonds, P56.02 billion in Islamic certificates and P54.77 billion in global peso bonds.
Meanwhile, NG’s guaranteed liabilities rose 2.4% to P372.86 billion at the end of September, from P364.03 billion at the end of August. It also rose 2.9% from P362.22 billion in the same period in 2023.
“This was mainly driven by the P12.3 billion in new guarantees for the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) and the National Food Authority (NFA), as well as P940 million in upward revaluation of third currency-denominated guarantees. ”, said the Ministry of Finance.
“Net redemptions of P3.95 billion and P460 million downward revaluation of U.S. dollar-denominated guarantees tempered the increase,” it added.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message that the increase in debt was mainly due to increased borrowing to balance the budget.Ficit.
The budget for the first nine months of 2024 is theFThe icit fell by 1.35% to 970.2 billion euros, compared to 983.5 billion euros a year ago.
“A certain maturity of government bonds in October 2024 and seasonally lower natural gas borrowings towards the end of the year in view of the Christmas holidays could at least moderate the increase in additional natural gas debt,” Ricafort said.
At the end of June, NG debt as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) stood at 60.9%, still above the 60% threshold considered manageable for developing economies by multilateral lenders. The aim is to reduce the debt ratio to 60.6% by the end of 2024.
NG’s debt burden is expected to reach P16.06 trillion by the end of 2024, with P10.92 trillion coming from domestic sources and P5.13 trillion from foreign sources. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz