Gov't gross borrowings decline by half in January

The government's gross borrowings declined by nearly 50 percent year-on-year in January to P41.33 billion, according to data from the Bureau of the Treasury. The amount is 49.6 percent less than the P82.01 billion the government borrowed in January 2012. P40.31 billion of the amount was borrowed from domestic creditors, compared to P15.28 billion in the same month last year. P32.67 billion of the total came from the auction of fixed-rate treasury bonds, with the remainder coming from the sale of treasury bills. External borrowings, in the form of project loans, amounted to only P1.02 billion, a small fraction of P66.73 billion in foreign debt January of last year. The government has been gradually reducing the foreign component of its debt to help cushion the economy from foreign exchange fluctuations. Total net borrowings grew to P15.55 billion from P2.41 billion a year ago. — BM, GMA News