Economic managers defer Europe roadshow

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s economic managers have decided to defer a planned non-deal investor roadshow in Europe, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said yesterday.

Teves said the government wanted to focus on efforts geared towards improving the country’s finances.

“The economic managers decided to defer the planned non deal roadshow to Europe to attend to our pressing concerns that need our presence in the country. However, we are making arrangements to update our investors on recent developments and policy directions to ensure the attainment of our various pograms in 2010 onwards,” he said.

The roadshow, slated this month, would supposedly bring a Philippine government team led by Teves to various countries in Europe to update investors on government efforts to improve the country’s fragile fiscal position. European investors have always been among the buyers of Philippine sovereign bonds.

Teves also said a plan to sell eurobonds is also no longer being pursued this time.

“On the issuance of eurobonds, this is not being pursued in the meantime since we have completed our external commercial funding with the Samurai bond issue,” Teves said.

The government has completed its planned 2010 foreign debt issuance amounting to $2.5 billion after raising $1.5 billion from the sale of dollar-denominated global bonds in January and a Samurai debt sale worth 100 billion yen or $1.1 billion last month.

Last week, Finance officials said the government could still proceed with selling eurobonds this year if its budget deficit for 2010 is increased.

However, the Department of Finance (DOF) expects the first quarter deficit to stay within the P110.9 billion due to strong revenues. If this continues, the government would be able to meet its 2010 deficit target of P293 billion.

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