Manila: The Philippines’ total foreign debt inched up to US$128.7bil in the first quarter amid “positive investor sentiment” that encouraged many private companies to tap the global capital market, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported.
Central bank data showed total external obligations of both the public and private sector went up by 2.6% in the first three months of the year, from the US$125.4bil recorded in the last quarter of 2023.
As a share of the economy, total offshore liabilities rose to 29% from 28.7% previously, staying at manageable levels, the BSP said.
At the same time, 86.7% of the entire external debt pile consisted of borrowings that are payable in more than one year.
Data showed the weighted average maturity for all medium to long-term debts stood at 16.8 years, with public sector borrowings having longer average tenor of 20.1 years versus 7.6 years for the private sector.
Major creditor countries were Japan (US$15.2bil), Britain (US$4.6bil), and the Netherlands (US$3.9bil).
Overall, the central bank said “positive investor sentiment” pushed up foreign investments in Philippines debt securities by US$1.2bil.
Broken down, the rise in offshore debt in the first quarter was mainly due to fresh borrowings largely by private banks, which raised US$2.1bil from foreign creditors to be used for budgetary support and to refinance old debts.
That, in turn, pushed up private sector debt by 4.7% quarter-on-quarter to US$49.8bil, accounting for 38.7% of the total.
The government, meanwhile, was able to borrow US$331mil from foreign lenders during the period to bankroll various programmes, including initiatives to enhance tax-system efficiency.
This brought the country’s total public-sector external debt to US$78.9bil, growing by 1.4%.
In terms of currency mix, the country’s debt remained largely denominated in US dollar at 76% of the total, followed by the Japanese yen with 8.6% share.
The BSP monitors and analyses major debt indicators for debt sustainability assessments, as well as inputs for the development of policies on offshore debt management.
Debt data collected from various sources is also used by the central bank to prepare statistical and analytical reports provided to various stakeholders, including global organisations such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. — Philippine Daily Inquirer/ ANN
