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MANILA - The Philippines' foreign debt ratios in the first quarter improved from a year ago, the central bank said on Friday.
In a statement, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said the country's external debt ratio - which is total foreign debt as a percentage of the Philippine economy or gross domestic product - eased to 27.4 percent at end-March this year from 29.5 percent in the same period in 2011.
This ratio is a measure of the country's solvency, and so indicates its capacity to pay down debt in the long run.
Even when measured against gross national income, this ratio also fell to 20.7 percent from 22.2 percent in 2011.
Another key measure, the external debt service ratio likewise fell to eight percent this year from 8.2 percent in 2011, and is way below the 20 to 25 percent international benchmark.
Defined as principal and interest payments as a percentage of total exports, this ratio measures the sufficiency of the country's foreign exchange to meet maturing debt.
The country had $62.9 billion in foreign debt outstanding at end-March this year, 1.9 percent higher than the end-2011 level, and 3.2 percent more than a year ago.
Nearly half of the Philippines' foreign debt at end-March this year was denominated in US dollars. Another 25.1 percent is in Japanese yen, 11.6 percent in multi-currency loans to the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, and the remaining 13.8 percent in 18 other foreign currencies.
Official development assistance, which carries concessional interest rates, comprises 42.5 percent of the total external debt, followed by bonds and notes at 38.5 percent.
At least 88 percent of the total outstanding foreign debt would mature in the medium- to long-term, with an average maturity of 22.3 years.
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