PH ODA portfolio rises to $37.29B

The Philippine government’s active official development assistance (ODA) portfolio rose to $37.29 billion last year as the government pushed to finance more infrastructure projects.

The 2023 ODA portfolio review report released by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) showed that official loans and grants to the Philippines went up by 15.08 percent from $32.4 billion in 2022.

ODA is a loan or grant given to a national government to promote its social and economic development. This is considered a lower-cost source of financing as they carry interest that is less than prevailing market rates and have longer grace and repayment periods.

Manila’s active ODA portfolio consisted of 113 loans amounting to $35.07 billion, and 325 grants equivalent to $2.22 billion last year.

These include 13 new program loans worth a total of $6 billion and 17 new projects amounting $6.08 billion. Among the new program loans are funds for the Post-Covid-19 Business and Employment Recovery Program as well as for modernization programs of financial systems.

Japan was the biggest source of ODA, with 32 percent or $12.07 billion of the total value last year. This was followed by Asian Development Bank with 31 percent or $11.43 billion, the World Bank with 22 percent or $8.19 billion, and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank with five percent or $1.7 billion.

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“This is a welcome opportunity as we boost the government’s capabilities and introduce crucial reforms to sustain our country’s socioeconomic progress,” Neda Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.

The infrastructure sector had the biggest share of the total ODA last year amounting $20.36 billion or 54.59 percent.