PHL foreign currency debt down 1% to $61.7B as of end-Sept.

December 21, 2012 7:12pm

The Philippines' foreign currency debts totaled $61.7 billion as of end-September, down by about 1 percent from $62.4 billion a year earlier, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported Friday.

 

The debts include those of the government and private enterprises.

 

“Major external debt indicators remained strong in the third quarter,” BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a statement.

 

The strong peso helped lower the foreign currency denominated borrowings, Bangko Sentral noted.

 

The peso rose by 4.5 percent against the US dollar in the year to Sept. 30, helped by remittances, foreign investments, new debt, and the generally weak dollar as the US economy stalls its way to recovery.

 

The Peso closed at 41.88:$1 on Sept. 28, the last trading of the month.

 

The decline foreign currency-denominated debts led to a drop in the foreign debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio, a key indicator of creditworthiness. The ratio was 25.6 percent as of end-September from 28.4 percent from a year earlier. — VS, GMA News