RP debt stock rises to P3.897T in Feb due to bond swap

The Philippines' debt stock increased to P3.897 trillion in February due to a bond swap held in that month, the Bureau of the Treasury said on Friday. The country's debt was at P3.872 trillion in January. In February, the government exchanged P88.6 billion worth of old debt with P97.5 billion worth of new three- and five-year benchmark bonds to lengthen the maturity profile of its debt stock, lower the cost of borrowing, and boost the liquidity of the domestic capital market. Of the country's total debt as of February, about 44 percent came from foreign sources while 56 percent were sourced from domestic creditors. The treasury reported that domestic debt went up by P23.1 billion to P2.165 trillion in February from P2.141 trillion in January due to the issuance of more debt papers. Documents showed that government issued treasury bills and treasury bonds reached P2.162 trillion in February from P2.139 trillion in January. On the other hand, foreign debt inched up by P1.5 billion to P1.731 trillion from P1.73 trillion. The government managed to reduce its foreign debt by P19 billion due to the strengthening of the peso against the US dollar but lost P21 billion from net availments and P14 billion from the depreciation of third currencies versus the greenback. Data showed that the country’s foreign debt consisted of P1.056 trillion in bonds of which P962.2 billion are denominated in US dollar, P73.7 billion in Euros, and P20.5 billion in Japanese yen. Another P675.1 billion are in the form of direct loans. The government’s strong fiscal position reduced the country’s debt stock to P3.851 trillion or 64 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) last year. The government hopes to further trim the ratio of the country’s debt to GDP ratio to 58 percent this year, to 51.7 percent of GDP next year, 45.8 percent of GDP by 2009, and finally to 40.7 percent of GDP by 2010. - GMANews.TV