RP 1999 surplus hit $3.8b

RP 1999 surplus hit $3.8b

MANILA (AFP): The Philippines' balance of payments surplus hit US$3.839 billion in 1999, more than twice the $1.359 billion surplus registered in 1998, the central bank said Sunday.

Statistics from the Central Bank of the Philippines showed the 1999 figure overshot by $639 million the $3.2 billion surplus target under a program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The central bank attributed the huge surplus to increased inflow of foreign funds, mostly from multilateral and bilateral creditors as well as the successful bond offerings of the government.