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Thursday, April 4, 2024 Vol. 19 No. 170
P. nationwide | sections pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
GOVT’S END-FEB DEBT HITS NEW HIGH OF P15T By Reine Juvierre Alberto
HSBC expert: MB likely to keep policy rates next wk
@reine_alberto
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HE national government’s outstanding debt as of end-February this year reached a new record high of P15 trillion, up by 10.37 percent from the P13.752 trillion reported in the same month last year, according to the Bureau of the Treasury. The Treasury on Wednesday reported that the national government’s (NG) debt reached P15.178 trillion as of February, expanding by 2.62 percent or P388.51 billion from January’s P14.790 trillion. The increase in the state’s debt stock in February was traced by the Treasury to “domestic debt issuances, though partially tempered by the effect of the stronger peso on foreign debt valuation.” The bulk of the total debt stock is domestic debt at 69.68 percent, while 30.32 percent is external debt. Broken down, domestic debt amounted to P10.576 trillion as of end-February, showing a yearon-year (YoY) increase of 12.01 percent from P9.442 trillion due to the net issuance of government securities. The bulk of the domestic borrowings for the period went to government securities at P10.576 trillion, while loans only accounted for P160 million. The Treasury said that for February, domestic debt gross issuance totaled P708.74 billion, including the P584.86 billion 5-year Retail Treasury Bonds (RTBs) issuance, while interest payments amounted to P293.57 billion. “Meanwhile, peso appreciation trimmed P0.66 billion from domestic debt through downward revaluation of foreign currency denominated domestic debt,” the BTr added. In terms of the government’s Continued on A
By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
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QUAKE ROCKS TAIWAN In this photo released by the Hualien City Government, a leaning building is cordoned off in the aftermath of an earthquake in Hualien, eastern Taiwan on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in a quarter century rocked the island during the morning rush Wednesday, damaging buildings and creating a tsunami that washed ashore on southern Japanese islands. Full story in A8 The World, “Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in 25 years damages buildings and roads, leaves 4 dead.” HUALIEN CITY GOVERNMENT VIA AP
TRONGER-THANEXPECTED growth in 2023 and expectations that prices are already slowing are enough reasons to expect the Monetary Board to maintain key policy rates next week, according to an HSBC economist. In an economic brief, HSBC Asean economist Aris Dacanay said he remained confident that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will move toward a 25 basis point (bp) cut in the third quarter. He said monetary authorities are still expected to deliver a cut of 75 bps in key rates this year to place the Target Reverse Repurchase (RRP) Rate at 5.75 percent by year-end. “With strong growth, there is no urgent need to cut policy rates. Rather, the BSP has the luxury of time to keep rates high for longer to make sure inflation expectations are well anchored and the USD-PHP is stable,” Dacanay said. “[But] we expect headline CPI to immediately return to within the BSP’s target band in third quarter of 2024, opening the door for the BSP to begin its much awaited— but gradual—easing cycle,” he added. Dacanay said the 5.6 percent GDP growth in 2023 made the Philippines the fastest growing Asean economy last year. This good performance is expected to continue in 2024 despite high interest rates. He noted that credit growth in the country “is already past its trough” and public investment is robust. Dacanay also said “a strong labor market” will help the economy sustain its economic growth this year. In terms of inflation, Dacanay said non-monetary measures such as the extension of the lower tariff rates on rice until the end of the year will be enough to place “a ceiling on domestic rice prices.” Rice prices has a Consumer Price Index (CPI) weight of 8.87 percent for All Income Households Continued on A
VILLAR PHL’S RICHEST, ONLY Marcos creates 2 special FILIPINO ON FORBES 200 LIST ecozones in Pasig, Cavite By VG Cabuag @villygc
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ANUEL B. Villar Jr., a former politician who has focused on the family business the past decade, remained as the richest Filipino, according to Forbes. The 74-year old Villar, ranked at 190th, is the only Filipino who landed in the magazine’s top 200, a list it based on stock prices and exchange rates.
Villar’s fortunes, mostly made on property development, according to Forbes’ calculations, climbed to $11 billion, up from $8.6 billion in the previous year. Port and gambling magnate Enrique K. Razon Jr. followed at 224th with net worth of $10 billion, from the previous year’s $7.3 billion. Ramon S. Ang, San Miguel Continued on A
By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla
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RESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has created two new Special Economic Zones in Pasig City and Cavite. In his proclamation No. 512, the chief executive designated several parcels of land in Ugong, Pasig City to create an Information Technology Park, which will be known as Arcovia City. The issuance covers the following parcels of land, with an aggregate area of 123,837 sq.m: Lot 2-B-2-B (LRC) Psd-217415, TCT No. 55560; Lot 2-B-2-C (LRC) Psd-217415, TCT No. 55561; Lot 1-C (LRC) Psd-303880, TCT No.
55562; Lot 1-D (LRC) Psd-303880 TCT No. 55563; Lot 3-B-2-F-5-A (LRC) Psd-13550, TCT No. 55564; and Lot 1-A (LRC) Psd-148444, TCT No. 55565. Also to be integrated in Arcovia City are Lot 2-A (LRC) Psd-182507, TCT No. 55566; Lot 50-H-5-C9-C-6 (LRC) Psd-14125, TCT No. PT-110380; and Lot 3 (LRC) Pcs4405, TCT No. PT-110381. The President also issued Proclamation No. 513 designating several parcels of land in Tanza, Cavite as part of the MetroCas Industrial Estates Special Economic Zone. The proclamation covers the Continued on A
PESO EXCHANGE RATES US 56.3640 Q JAPAN 0.3719 Q UK 70.9172 Q HK 7.1993 Q SINGAPORE 41.7171 Q AUSTRALIA 36.7381 Q SAUDI ARABIA 15.0276 Q EU 60.7322 Q KOREA 0.0418 Q CHINA 7.7937 Source: BSP (April 3, 2024)