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THE
government bared on Wednesday the likelihood of
increasing its foreign borrowings this year to its
original plan of $1 billion.
The
amount was previously halved to $500 million on account
of low interest rates in the country.
Finance
Secretary Margarito Teves borrowed $500 million in the
form of global bonds in January.
The
latest development would mean a reinstatement of the
portion he gave up at that time.
“It is
an option. But there is no decision on it yet,” Teves
said on the sidelines of the joint World Bank-Philippine
government briefing on the approval of a loan for the
second phase of the National Roads Improvement and
Management Project, or NRIMP 2.
Teves
stressed nothing at this point had been cast in stone:
“As you know, interest rates are moving up and the
inflation rate has been increasing. That is why we have
to check whether it is prudent to consider going back to
our previous borrowing mix of 64:36 from 70:30.”
The mix
calls for higher peso borrowings than foreign loans.
Teves
said that while the national government was “open” to
more foreign borrowings than they originally envisioned,
both the source and the timing of the transaction were
critical considerations.
According to him, it should prove easier to borrow from
commercial sources than bilateral institutions with
their so-called official development assistance
packages.
“Again,
it depends on market opportunities, interest rates and
other timing considerations,” he reiterated.
It was
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr.
who earlier cited the possibility for the government to
return to the global credit market for its funding
requirements.
“I know
they are looking into it,” Tetangco said earlier.
Teves’s
chief fundraiser Roberto Tan, who heads the Bureau of
Treasury, has been hit by a series of high bid rates for
Treasury bills, forcing Tan to reject or cancel their
sale altogether.
Teves
and Tan have been funding the government’s financing
needs from the sales proceeds of government assets.
“What is
important here is that we are open to a combination that
will provide the best opportunities for the Philippine
economy,” Teves said. |
