The National Government and private corporations obtained new foreign loans totalling $9.19 billion in the first quarter of this year, the central bank said in an internal report.

The Philippines' external debt ceiling for this year has been adjusted higher to $12.7 billion.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) International Operations Department (IOD) noted in the report that for the month of March alone, foreign loans registered with the BSP totaled $4.23 billion, double of what was reported the same period in 2009 of $2.01 billion.

Less principal repayments of $7.09 billion falling due during the quarter, total net availments for both public and private foreign loans amounted to $2.09 billion in the first three months.

Last January, the central bank increased this year’s external debt limit to $12.7 billion from $10 billion for the public and private sectors.

Based on the BSP-IOD report, the NG registered foreign loans included the $1.12 billion Samurai Bonds due 2020, the $149 million Emergency Budget Support from the Japanese Official Development Assistance program, the $99 million Japan International Cooperation Agency loan, and the $40 million Social Welfare and Development Reform project loan from the Internatioal Bank for Reconstruction and Development of the World Bank.

The biggest of the private sector loans, in the meantime, was the $250 million 10-year bonds issued by the International Container Terminal Services Inc. The loan was not registered with the BSP which meant these bonds were issued without BSP approval.

Three power companies also borrowed $232-million worth of foreign loans during the period, of which $220 million were for projects under build-own-operate arrangements, the rest or $52 million were used for loan prepayments.