Gov’t borrowings down 90% to P3.3B in Nov.

A drop in domestic borrowings last November pulled the total amount borrowed by the government by 90 percent to P3.3 billion from P33.7 billion a year ago, the latest Treasury data showed.

In November, gross domestic borrowings mainly from the auction of Treasury bills and bonds went down to P2.6 billion from P33.3 billion during the same month in 2014.

Gross external borrowings, on the other hand, rose to P786 million from P419 million a year ago. All foreign borrowings that month were project loans from multilateral lenders.

At the end of the first 11 months, government borrowings totaled P317 billion, lower than the P330.7 billion in the same period of the previous year.

The government plans to borrow P674.8 billion this year, lower than last year’s program of P710.8 billion, to slash the debt stock—or the share of outstanding debt to the gross domestic product—to a record low of 41.8 percent.

Domestic borrowing would compose 85 percent of the total or P570.2 billion. The government would also borrow P104.6 billion from foreign sources—P54.1 billion in program loans, P17.1 billion in project loans, and P33.4 billion in bonds and other inflows.

The government, however, would delay the foreign bond sale it usually undertakes early in the year amid volatility in global markets, National Treasurer Roberto B. Tan had said.

Last December, President  Aquino gave the go-ahead for a $2-billion offshore bond issue, although the Philippine government was still seeking approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to push through with the transaction. The Treasury plans to raise $750 million in sovereign bonds for new money, while the rest would be for liability management.

As early as November, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Monetary Board approved the planned sovereign bond issuance, as the Treasury was then eyeing to borrow overseas earlier than usual. However, the plan for an offshore bond offering before 2015 ended was eventually scrapped, as undertaking shelf filing with the US SEC would take some time.