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Monday, July 15, 2024 Vol. 19 No. 272
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5-MONTH DEBT SERVICE UP 48% TO P1.2T–BTR By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
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HE national government spent P1.216 trillion to pay its domestic and foreign debts from January to May this year, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr). Latest data from the Treasury showed the government’s debt service was higher by 48.38 percent, or P396.474 billion, as of end-May from P819.526 billion in the same period in 2023. Amortization, or the repayment of loan principal over time, accounted for 73.57 percent of the total debt service. It outpaced interest payments of debts currently at 26.43 percent, based on Treasury’s data. Amortization reached P895.126 billion during the five-month period, higher by 67.80 percent year-on-year from P589.952 billion. Domestic amortization grew by 41.51 percent as of end-May to P754.855 billion recorded a year ago. Domestic Bond Exchange was allotted P243.449 billion while the Bond Sinking Fund received P510.886 billion. The remaining P520 million under domestic amortization went to Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs). External amortization of the national government almost tripled, expanding by 148.21 percent to P140.271 billion from P56.512 billion. In terms of interest payments, Treasury data showed the state’s domestic and foreign interest payments both posted double-digit growth rates during the first five months of the year. The government paid P231.376 billion in domestic interest payments as of end-May, 51.62 percent higher than it did in 2023 at P152.604 billion. Domestic interest payments were composed mainly of interest payments for Fixed Rate Treasury Bonds at P156.655 billion, followed by Retail Treasury Bonds at P55.478 billion, Treasury Bills at P13.485 billion, and others at P5.758 billion. Meanwhile, foreign interest payments of the national government from January to May rose by 17.20 percent year-on-year to P90.209 See “BTR,” A2
TRUMP’S CLOSE CALL Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he is helped off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., following an assassination attempt on Saturday, July 13, 2024, at a Pennsylvania rally. The attack occurred days before he was to accept the Republican nomination for a third time. A barrage of gunfire set off panic, and a bloodied Trump, who said he was shot in the ear, was surrounded by Secret Service and hurried to his SUV as he pumped his fist in a show of defiance. Story in A8 World, “Global leaders condemn Donald Trump’s assassination attempt.” AP/GENE J. PUSKAR
PAGCOR 6-MO NET INCOME UP 121% TO P6.56B
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TATE gaming firm Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) announced its net income expanded by 121.48 percent to P6.56 billion from January to June this year, from P2.96 billion recorded in the same period in 2023, driven by increased gross revenues. Gross gaming revenue (GGR) of the Philippine gaming industry in the six-month period also rose by 19.21 percent to P194.743 billion from the P163.36 billion posted a year ago. Pagcor Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alejandro Tengco attributed the positive result of the reforms and enhanced regulations See “Pagcor,” A2
Peza investment approvals up 37.8% to P45.5B in H1 By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan
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HE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) said it approved P45.48 billion in investments in the first half of 2024, up 37.82 percent from the P33 billion investments it approved in the six-month period last year. In a statement at the weekend, Peza said its P45.48-billion approvals pertain to 120 new and expansion projects from January to June 2024. These investment approvals, it
noted, are expected to create more than 25,000 direct jobs, with projected export earnings at approximately $1.61 billion. Of the 120 approved new and expansion projects in the first half of the year, Peza listed 57 enterprises in the Manufacturing sector, 32 in IT-BPM, 3 in Logistics, 6 in Domestic, while 13 are for Ecozone Development. The new projects approved in the six-month period spell an 18-percent increase from 102 to 120, with projected direct employment See “Peza,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 58.2980 n JAPAN 0.3668 n UK 75.2744 n HK 7.4671 n CHINA 8.0327 n SINGAPORE 43.4185 n AUSTRALIA 39.3920 n EU 63.3641 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.5436 Source: BSP (July 12, 2024)