Net borrowings of gov’t down 69% at P100.2B in January-October period

The government’s financing position in the 10 months to October showed a net borrowing of P100.2 billion, or 69-percent lower than the P326.8 billion recorded in the year-ago period, according to the Bureau of the Treasury.

The inflow of borrowings remained smaller year on year as the Treasury continued to post savings in interest payments due to efforts on consolidating finances and managing debts.

In the 10-month period, the government incurred a total of P484.9 billion in new borrowings, 31 percent less than the P701.7 billion borrowed in the same period in 2010.

At the same time, the government paid a total of P384.8 billion, an increase of 3 percent from the P374.8 billion it settled last year.

Treasury documents showed that the biggest contributors to debts during those 10 months were the issuance of global bonds worth a total of P119.7 billion as well as local bonds totaling P295.4 billion. The government floated P54.77 billion in global bonds in January and P64.91 billion in March.

Also, P295.4 billion worth of regular bonds and P214 billion of retail bonds were issued, aside from P31 billion raised through bond swaps.

On the other hand, the Treasury also reported a net redemption of bills totaling P220.9 billion.

Overseas development assistance (ODA) loans and grants also reached P45.2 billion, including P20.8 billion for projects and P24.5 billion for programs.

Total ODA was 15 percent less than the P53 billion reported in the same period last year, which included P22.2 billion for project loans and P30.9 billion for program loans.

As of October, the government paid out a total of P384.8 billion, including P103.9 billion in foreign loans and P280.8 billion in domestic debts.

Total payment for the period was higher by 3 percent than the P374.8 billion paid out in the same period last year, which covered P113.3 billion for overseas obligations and P261.5 billion for local loans.

In October alone, the government’s financing position settled at a net borrowing of P90.5 billion, more than five times the net borrowing of P17.3 billion posted in the same month last year.

In October, the government incurred P4 billion in new foreign loans and P96.2 billion in new domestic debt.

At the same time, the Treasury paid out P2.1 billion in foreign debts and P6.9 billion in domestic loans.