PH DEBT DROPS SLIGHTLY TO P14.93T IN MARCH 2024

The Philippines’ sovereign debt declined in March on the back of the redemption of domestic government securities during the month, data released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) on Thursday showed.

The national government’s total outstanding debt was P14.93 trillion as of end-March, reflecting a P252.98-billion or 1.67% decline from P15.178 trillion as of end-February. This is also 7.71% higher than the P13.856 trillion as of end-March 2023.

Broken down, the majority or 68.86% or P10.277 trillion was domestic debt, marking a 2.83% fall from P10.576 trillion the previous month.

“The decline resulted from the P299.45-billion net redemption of government securities offsetting the P0.24-billion effect of peso depreciation on foreign currency domestic debt,” the BTr said.

The Philippine peso closed on March 27, 2024 — the last trading day of the month — at P56.24:$1, as compared to P56.12:$1 on February 29, 2024.

External debt accounted for 31.14% of the total debt stock of P4.65 trillion. This is P46.23 billion or 1.00% higher than the end-February level of P4.602 trillion.

“The increase resulted from the net availment of foreign loans amounting to P44.01 billion as well as local currency depreciation, which added to the valuation of US dollar-denominated debt by P7.05 billion,” the BTr said.

The foreign loan availments offset the P4.83-billion impact of the appreciation in third currencies against the US dollar.

Obligations guaranteed by the national government also increased by P1.11 billion to P346.04 billion, on the back of the P2.48-billion net availment of domestic guarantees and the P0.25-billion effect of the peso depreciation against the US dollar on external guarantees.

The net repayment of external guarantees offset P1.15 billion, while the net appreciation on third-currency-denominated guarantees trimmed P0.47 billion.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort said the debt stock could climb further due to the upcoming global bond issuance and the continued weakness of the Philippine peso.

The Philippine peso hit a fresh 17-month low of P57.78:$1 on April 25, its worst showing in 17 months since November 10, 2022’s P58.19:$1.

“The planned $5-billion global/ROP bond issuance by the national government as early as 2Q 2024 could be added to the country’s foreign/external debt and the overall national government outstanding debt,” Ricafort said.

However, this will be slightly offset by the $365 million in maturing Japanese yen bonds paid by the national government in April, he said. — VBL, GMA Integrated News

This article PH debt drops slightly to P14.93T in March 2024 was originally published in GMA News Online.

2024-05-02T13:06:27Z dg43tfdfdgfd