Natl govt’s debt stock up at P4.741T on foreign component

The government’s domestic debts eased in January, but enough to offset its debt stock which rose to P4.741 trillion as the foreign debt component climbed from levels recorded last December, the Bureau of Treasury said Wednesday. The debt stock as of end-January was P23 billion more than the P4.718 trillion as of end-December, the bureau said. The amount of debt the government owed foreign creditors totaled P2.066 trillion or 44 percent of the total, while domestic lenders accounted for P2.657 trillion or 56 percent, Treasury data showed. The foreign debt component rose by P66 billion in the same comparable period as the government borrowed more than it settled during those two months. Domestic debt eased by P43 billion — on net basis — in the two-month period as the national government redeemed more government securities than it issued. The so-called contingent debt of the national government, however, was unchanged at P550 billion. Contingent debt is mainly loan guarantees issued by the national government. — VS, GMA News