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CONTINUED foreign inflows that boosted the country’s
level of foreign-currency reserves allowed the economic
managers to pay ahead of schedule $467.6 million worth
of foreign debts in the first three months.
This was
but a fraction of the foreign debt prepayment the
government undertook last year totaling $2.995 billion.
But
there is optimism that more could be paid ahead of
schedule again this year, according to Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando Tetangco Jr.
In an
e-mail, Tetangco said $169.3 million or 36.2 percent of
total prepayments for the period were for public-sector
foreign IOUs.
The
balance totaling $298.4 million was for private-sector
foreign debts.
Much of
this was possible because of sustained foreign inflows
that allowed the BSP to accumulate gross international
reserves totaling $36.7 billion as at end-April this
year.
Such was
also possible because foreign direct investments posted
a net inflow totaling $327 million in the first two
months alone.
Tetangco
said the investments came at a time when fund managers
took a generally cautious stance on investing in
emerging markets like the Philippines, given the
prevalent global uncertainties.
Robust
remittances from more than eight million overseas
Filipinos workers (OFWs) also allowed the economy to pay
its foreign debts ahead of time.
OFW
remittances in the first quarter alone totaled $4
billion, higher by 13.2 percent from a year ago.
Tetangco
said OFW remittances in March alone totaled $1.4
billion, the highest recorded monthly level ever.
Foreign-debt prepayments in 2006 totaled only $4.4
billion.
Prepayment helps ease the compulsion to borrow overseas
and represents a boost to the peso that has weakened
against the US dollar in recent weeks. |
