Govt borrowings hit P663B in Oct

The national government’s gross borrowings in October ballooned to over P663 billion, data released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed.

The actual P663.21-billion gross borrowings in October is significantly higher than the P50.27 billion in the same month last year.

During the month, domestic financing soared to P639.04 billion from P47.52 billion in October 2019.

Local borrowings were sourced through the issuance of P29.99-billion and P69.04-billion worth of Treasury bills and fixed-rate bonds, respectively.

External financing, meanwhile, also went up by 780 percent to P24.69 billion from P2.74 billion a year ago. Total external borrowings in October was sourced through P4.41-billion worth of project loans and P19.75 billion generated via program loans.

Year-to-date, the government’s gross borrowings reached P3.22 trillion.

National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon, however, said the figure “included the central bank’s advances, which we paid and proceeds from the switch program.”

“So we have not exceeded [the P3 trillion borrowing] program,” said de Leon.

In March, the national government and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) entered a repurchase agreement worth P300 billion. The BSP purchased P300 billion worth of government securities from the Bureau of Treasury, which was already settled by the government last September 29.

For full-year 2020, the government plans to borrow P3 trillion from domestic and external sources this year. The amount is 195-percent higher than 2019’s P1.01 trillion.

Gross domestic financing is programmed to reach P2.21 trillion while external borrowings are expected to hit P785.61 billion. The Treasury bureau would raise P48 billion by issuing Treasury bills and P1.67 trillion through fixed-rate Treasury bonds.

It also plans to borrow P500 billion from the BSP through short-term loans. Of this amount, P300 billion were already disbursed to the bureau through its three-month repurchase agreement signed with the central bank in March.

In terms of foreign financing, the government plans to raise P466.81 billion through program loans, P29.07 billion through project loans and P289.73 billion through the issuance of bonds as well as from other inflows.

Last year, the government borrowed P1.01 trillion from creditors, a 13.17-percent growth from P897.55 billion in 2018.

Source: ManilaTimes