Government outstanding debt rises 10.4% at end-Sept.
THE national government’s outstanding debt was P7.907 trillion at the end of September, up 10.4% year-on-year, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said.
BTr said Monday that debt at the end of September fell 0.4% compared with the end of August due to a stronger peso and net repayment of both external and domestic loans.
“…the lower level of domestic debt was due to the combined net redemption of government securities amounting to P14.37 billion and P170 million effect of peso appreciation on onshore dollar bonds,” BTr said in a statement.
The Bureau said that 66.49% of the outstanding debt or P5.257 trillion was owed to domestic creditors. Domestic borrowing rose 14.6% from a year earlier, but was down 0.3% from August.
Government securities accounted for the bulk of domestic debt at P5.256 trillion, while the remainder consisted of loans entered into by various agencies as well as assumed loans.
Meanwhile, external debt rose 3% year-on-year in September but fell 0.6% month-on-month to P2.649 trillion. At the end of September, most overseas borrowing consisted of dollar bonds worth P1.285 trillion, followed by peso global bonds totalling P129.679 billion, and samurai bonds worth the equivalent of 169.937 billion. — Luz Wendy T. Noble
