Gross borrowings hit P272 billion in April

MANILA, Philippines — Gross borrowings by the national government from domestic and external sources rose to P272 billion in April, following the sale of euro and samurai bonds during the month.

Data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed this was more than the P263 billion in gross borrowings during the same month last year.

The bulk of the borrowings during the month came from external financing at  P165.8 billion, mostly from the issuance of P122 billion in euro-denominated bonds and P24.19 billion in yen-denominated bonds.

Other sources of external financing during the month were project loans and program loans.

Gross domestic borrowings, meanwhile, reached P106.15 billion comprising issuances of P11.15 billion worth of Treasury bills, and P95.5 billion worth of Treasury bonds.

The government raised $2.53 billion in April from the successful issuance of euro-denominated bonds in three tranches. Sold were Global Bonds in tenors of four years (650 million euros), 12 years (650 million euros) and 20 years (800 million euros) for a total issuance of  2.1 billion euros.

This was the largest euro-denominated transaction by the government and first triple tranche offer.

On March 30, the government raised $500 million from the issuance of its first ever zero coupon yen-denominated bonds with a tenor of three years. The notes were settled on April 13.

The government raised funds in the international debt market in the early part of the year to take advantage of favorable interest rates and investor confidence in the country’s recovery prospects.

With rising pandemic-related expenses, the inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) raised the deficit program  to 9.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year and 7.7 percent of GDP for 2021 and 2022, respectively.