Colombia’s foreign debt in February rose

Colombia’s foreign debt in February rose in absolute terms and as a percentage of the country’s gross domestic product as the government and private companies borrowed more abroad.

The Central Bank said total foreign debt as a percentage of GDP rose to 22%
in February from 19% a year earlier.

In absolute term foreign debt owed by the government and private companies was $46.64 billion, up from $44.94 billion a year earlier.

The Colombian economy grew 2.5% in 2008, according to the country’s
statistics department. In the fourth quarter, the economy contracted 0.7% and likely contracted again in the first quarter of this year.

The government’s total foreign debt rose to $29.94 billion, or the equivalent
to 14% of GDP, up from $29.19 billion in February 2008, or 12% of GDP,
following a $1 billion bond sale in January.

German Verdugo, a market analyst with local brokerage Correval SA, said the government’s debt will rise in the following months because of another $1 billion bond sale carried out in April, even though the money collected from the April bond sale will be used to finance the 2010 budget.

Besides the $1 billion in bonds, the government plans to borrow $2.65 billion from multilateral lenders, such as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank this year to plug its widening 2009 budget deficit, which is expected to reach the equivalent of 2.3% of gross domestic product.

The ratio of debt to GDP will rise as the debt increase is happening when the
country’s economy is contracting, Verdugo said.

Overseas debt held by Colombia’s private sector was also higher in February, at $16.70 billion, or the equivalent to 7.9% of GDP, from $15.75 billion, or the equivalent to 6.5%, in February 2008.

Companies’ foreign debt is lower than the $16.85 billion registered in
January. In the first months of 2008, Colombian companies borrowed abroad but are scaling down since November as a result of the crisis, Verdugo said.

The Central Bank said that a large chunk of the country’s foreign debt,
$41.55 billion, bore long-term maturity, while the remaining $5.09 billion
carries a short-term maturity.