The total foreign obligations declared by the private sector as of March 31, 2009
totaled US$ 56,148 million, corresponding to US$ 51,780 million to the non-financial
private sector (NFPS) and US$ 4,369 million to the private financial sector (SPF).
In the first quarter of the year, private external obligations decreased by US$ 2,828 million,
mainly due to the cancellation of debts for imports of goods, continuing with the
behavior observed in the previous quarter. The variation was explained by a decrease
of US$ 2,067 million in NFPS and US$ 761 million in SPF.
NFPS import debt contracted by US$ 1,714 million (10%) in the quarter
, accompanying the fall in the level of purchases of goods abroad, with no variations
in the proportion of purchases made with external financing (70%). 80% of the
decrease in liabilities for imports of goods was due to the lower obligations of the
automotive (US$ 961 million) and chemical, rubber and plastic (US$ 409 million) sectors. The debt
for imports with companies of the same group registered a decrease of US$ 1,098 million.
NFPS received fresh funds in the quarter for US$ 888 million, mainly from companies
of the same group (74%). Although the level was similar to those recorded in previous quarters, a greater concentration was
observed in the number of recipient companies. The fresh funds were
arranged at an average life of about 2.6 years.
The NFPS reduced its external obligations to all types of creditors with the
exception of financing from international organizations (due to new disbursements from the IFC and the IDB),
with financial institutions being the ones with whom it did so to a greater extent.
The fall in SPF debt in the quarter was recorded in almost all categories; financial debt
was reduced by US$ 570 million, while commercial credit lines fell by US$ 200
million, corresponding to US$ 111 million for lines intended to finance imports.
The cancellations of pass operations corresponded to maturities of the quarter and the
pre-cancellation of future payments. On the debt securities side, most of the
cancellations were linked to repurchases carried out mainly by private financial institutions
with national capital, which, within a framework of local liquidity, carried out the
redemption of liabilities at attractive prices given the international context of the financial markets.
The average life of private external debt as of 31.03.09 showed a slight lengthening, standing at
1.90 years, with that of the external debt of the NFPS being 1.86 years, while that of the SPF reached
3.72 years.
