October forex reserves at record $43.18-B
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 11/06/2009 2:44 PM
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MANILA - The Philippines' main buffer against foreign exchange shocks hit a fresh record high in October.
According to preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the country's gross international reserves (GIR) grew to a record $43.18 billion last month from the revised September level of $42.53 billion, which was also a record high.
The increase was due mainly to inflows of proceeds from the government's third global bond issuance for 2009, a loan from the Asian Development Bank, revaluation gains on the BSP's gold holdings, and income from the central bank's investments abroad.
The latest GIR was enough to cover 8 months worth of the Philippines' import requirements. It was also equivalent to 9.1 times the country's short-term external debt based on original maturity and 4 times based on residual maturity.
Short-term debt based on residual maturity refers to outstanding external debt with original maturity of one year or less, plus principal payments on medium- and long-term loans of the public and private sectors falling due within the next 12 months.
BSP Governor Amando Tetangco earlier said that the GIR could reach $42 to $43 billion by the end of this year, and $47 billion by the end of 2010.
He said money sent home by overseas Filipinos would also boost the country's foreign exchange reserves. Tetangco forecast remittances to grow 4% this year, higher than the BSP's previous forecast of flat growth from a record $16.4 billion in 2008. - abs-cbnNEWS.com, with a report from Reuters
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