Executive Summary
Foreign obligations declared by the private sector as of June 30, 2008 totaled US$60,308 million, corresponding to US$53,933 million (89%) to the non-financial private sector (NFPS) and US$6,375 million (11%) to the private financial sector (SPF).
In the second quarter of the year, the external liabilities of the private sector grew by US$ 4,502 million due to increases of US$ 4,130 million in the external debt of the NFPS and US$ 372 million in that of the SPF.
The increase in the external indebtedness of the NFPS took place in all types of debt, highlighting the financing of imports of goods, which grew by US$ 3,077 million. On the other hand, the debt for advances and pre-financing of exports increased by US$ 843 million, basically reflecting the greater financing used by the export sector of oilseeds and cereals.
The NFPS received fresh funds for US$ 977 million in the quarter, corresponding almost entirely to financial loans. 54% of them were granted by companies of the same group.
The external obligations of the SPF increased for the fifth consecutive quarter, accumulating a growth of 23% in the last 15 months. Financial debt increased by US$ 115 million, while commercial credit lines grew by US$ 252 million and were basically applied to import financing (US$ 220 million).
The SPF received fresh financial funds in the quarter for a total of US$ 39 million, mainly in the form of pass operations with public securities. The funds resulting from these revenues were mainly applied to the cancellation of foreign liabilities (US$ 26 million).
The average rate on interest-bearing NFPS debt stood at around 6.75% per annum, while the implied rate on the sector’s total external debt (including 43% of non-interest-bearing debt) fell by 30 basis points to 3.82% per annum. On the other hand, the average nominal rates of the SPF were around 6.79% in the case of fixed rates and 5.73% for variable rates (262 basis points over the six-month LIBOR in dollars).
The average life of private external debt as of 06/30/08 stood at 1.82 years, implying a reduction of 0.30 years compared to the previous quarter. The average life of the NFPS’ external debt was in the order of 1.79 years, while that of the SPF was around 2.95 years.
