Gov't borrows less, foreign loans jump

The Marcos administration’s gross borrowings declined slightly to P1.757 trillion in the first seven months of the year, driven by a drop in domestic loans despite a more than 50 percent increase in foreign debt.

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Data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed that the government’s debt as of end-July stood 0.1 percent lower than P1.759 trillion gross borrowings posted in the same period a year earlier.

As of end-July, gross borrowings accounted for 68.9 percent of the government’s total planned borrowings of ®2.55 trillion for the year.

Foreign borrowings increased by 51 percent to P415.9 billion from January to July, compared to 275.5 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Loans sourced from foreign investors accounted for 23.6 percent of the total borrowings for the seven-month period, exceeding the target share of 20 percent for foreign debt.