The country’s total foreign debt rose substantially at the end of the fourth quarter of last year on the back of government borrowing to fund its programs to counter the pandemic and for various public works projects, according to the central bank.
In a press statement, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno announced the Philippines’ outstanding external debt stood at $98.5 billion as of end-2020, up by $6.5 billion or 7.1 percent from the $92 billion level as of end-September 2020.
“The rise in the debt stock during the fourth quarter was due to net availments of $7.9 billion by both public and private sector borrowers,” he said. “During the quarter, the national government raised $2.8 billion from the issuance of global bonds as well as $733 million net availments from official sources, to fund its COVID-19 pandemic response programs and various infrastructure development projects.”
Private local banks, meanwhile, leveraged on a strong Philippine peso vis-à-vis the US dollar.