The national government’s gross borrowings as of end-February rose by more than 50 percent due to the retail treasury bonds (RTBs) sale conducted during the month.
According to the latest cash operations report posted on the BTr website, the government’s gross borrowings in January to February rose to P742.11 billion from the P492.25 billion recorded a year ago.
Gross domestic borrowings for the period accounted for the bigger chunk amounting to 538.56 billion, up 37.9 percent from the year ago level of P390.55 billion.
Of the said amount, P231.68 billion is in fixed rate treasury bonds, while P23.18 billion was accounted for by treasury bills.
In February, the government also raised P238.71 billion from its 5.5-year RTB offer.
Meanwhile, the BTr data also showed gross external borrowings for the period likewise jumped to P203.55 billion from P101.7 billion a year ago.
Project loans totaled to P21.72 billion while P18.22 billion was from program loans.
The government also raised P163.61 billion from its global bond issuance in January, when it had a triple-tranche US dollar bond sale.
In February alone, the government recorded gross financing of P375.25 billion, significantly higher versus the P53.12 billion recorded a year ago.
Gross domestic borrowings rose to P359.26 billion from the P45 billion posted in the same period in 2022.
Meanwhile, foreign borrowings jumped to P15.98 billion from P8.12 billion in February last year.
