Gov’t borrowings in 2014 at record low of P369B

THE GOVERNMENT borrowed from foreign and domestic sources a total of P369 billion in 2014, the lowest since 2002’s P275 billion.

Compared with the P555 billion in 2013, the loans secured from multilateral lenders and the issuance of debt paper to investors here and abroad last year were lower by 33.5 percent, the latest Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) data showed.

In 2014, domestic borrowings amounting to P266 billion were higher than external borrowings worth P103 billion.

Last year’s borrowings mainly from the auction of treasury bonds and bills to local investors were more than half of the P521 billion borrowed in 2013.

As for foreign borrowings in 2014, they exceeded by almost three times the previous year’s P34 billion.

The BTr said foreign loans were expected to increase last year mainly to fund the ongoing rehabilitation and reconstruction in areas flattened by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in late 2013.

Last year, project loans amounted to almost P18 billion, while program loans reached nearly P57 billion. These loans fund specific short-term projects or long-term programs with official development assistance or grants from multilateral lenders such as the Asian Development Bank and World Bank, among other international lenders.

In December alone, the government borrowed more than P38 billion, of which more than P7 billion was external and P31 billion was domestic.