THE state’s gross borrowings in August declined by an annualized rate of nearly 7 percent to P124.056 billion as the national government had a hard time securing financing from the domestic market due to investors’ high asking yields.
Latest Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) data showed that the national government borrowed P9.282 billion less in August compared to the P133.338 billion total borrowings it made in the same month of last year.
Treasury data showed that the over 400 percent increase in the state’s external gross borrowings was unable to offset the 11.09-percent drop in its domestic gross borrowings.
The national government’s gross external borrowings quintupled to P6.682 billion from P1.317 billion last year, according to the Treasury.
The entire recorded external borrowings in August came from Project Loans. The national government posted P4.741 billion in external debt payments, resulting in a net external borrowing of P1.941 billion.
Domestic gross borrowings in August, meanwhile, declined by 11.09 percent to P117.374 billion from P132.021 billion last year.
Treasury data showed that the bulk of the borrowings came from fixed-rate Treasury bonds at P110.235 billion while the remaining P7.139 billion were raised through Treasury bills.
Cumulatively, the national government borrowed P1.678 trillion from January to August, 21.75 percent higher than the P1.37 trillion it recorded in the same eight-month period last year.
Broken down, about P1.284 trillion came from the domestic market or around 76 percent of the total gross borrowings in line with the administration’s borrowing matrix. The remaining P394.562 billion came from external sources.
Treasury data showed that both external and domestic gross borrowings rose by double-digit growth rates on an annual basis during the eight-month period.
External gross borrowings from January to August increased by 16.8 percent from last year’s P337.794 billion. Domestic gross borrowings, meanwhile, expanded by 23.36 percent from P1.041 trillion recorded during the reference period last year.
The national government’s gross borrowings from January to August already accounts for 76 percent of its programmed borrowing this year of about P2.207 trillion.
For the whole year, the national government plans to borrow P2.207 trillion with a 75:25 mix in favor of domestic sources.