Philippine reserves end 2012 at an all-time high

GMA News January 7, 2013 5:02pm



nternational reserves, which serve as a cushion against external shocks, reached an all-time high in 2012 due to the increased operations income of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, higher government deposits and the bond issuance of a state-run energy firm, the central bank chief said Monday.

In a statement, BSP Governor Amando Tetangco said Gross International Reserves (GIR) hit $84.248 billion as of December 2012.

The latest GIR figure is 11.8 percent more than end-December 2011's level of $75.3 billion, and is higher than the BSP's revised 2012 forecast of $83 billion.

Philippine reserves are now good for 12.1 months' worth of imports and equivalent to 10.5 times the country's short-term debt.



"The appreciable year-on-year build-up in the reserves level was due mainly to inflows from the foreign exchange operations and investment income of the BSP," said Tetangco.

He added that the GIR's uptick was also caused by higher deposits by the government and proceeds from the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corporation's bond issuance and other foreign borrowings.



Inflows, however, were offset by foreign exchange outflows from government's debt payments, withdrawals made by banks and revaluation losses on the Bangko Sentral's foreign currency-denominated reserves. — BM, GMA News