External debt hits $79B, payments also up in 2018

THE country’s outstanding external debt totaled $79 billion as of end-2018, central bank data released late last week showed, up from a quarter and a year earlier.

Also on Friday, the Treasury bureau reported that debt payments made by the government last year rose to P775.6 billion, 14 percent higher than the P680.5 billion recorded in 2017, due to higher interest payments and amortization costs.