MANILA: The Philippines aims to raise US$23.71 billion (RM96.47 billion) from external sources to bridge a planned budget deficit and fund priority projects this year, including US$5.5 billion from the commercial markets, the Department of Finance said on Sunday.
The amount is 39% higher than the $US17.01 billion the government raised from external sources last year for key infrastructure projects and for helping bridge a wider budget deficit due to state spending on Covid-19 response measures.
A total of US$8.06 billion of this year's amount will be for budget support purposes, while the balance of US$15.65 billion will be for project financing, the DOF said in a statement.
This year's budget of 4.5 trillion pesos (RM380.9 billion), the country's largest yet, is intended to bankroll an economic recovery and fund the purchase of millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccines.
The government is targeting full-year growth of 6.5%-7.5% for the pandemic-hit economy, which contracted by a record 9.5% last year.
This year the government plans to secure US$7.67 billion in loans and grants from multilateral institutions, US$10.54 billion from bilateral sources, and US$5.5 billion from the debt markets, the DOF said.
Last year, the DOF secured US$7.73 billion from multilateral lenders, US$2.86 billion from bilateral partners, and US$6.47 billion from commercial markets.
Of the total external financing contracted in 2020, around US$15.44 billion was for emergency requirements for the government's Covid-19 response, while US$1.62 billion was for other initiatives including infrastructure projects. – Reuters
