2012.06.05 08:07:37 Philippines Treasury Chief: Watching Markets for Possible Foreign Debt Swap

By Cris Larano MANILA--The Philippine government is watching the market to see whether it is feasible for one of Asia's most active sovereign borrowers to undertake an exchange for its expensive foreign debt, National Treasurer Roberto Tan said Tuesday. Speaking to reporters at a treasury bond auction, Tan said the government is considering, among other options, exchanging global peso notes for foreign currency-denominated bonds that are relatively costly for the Philippines. "We're assessing if market conditions are good for that," Tan said. Last week, Finance Undersecretary Rosalia de Leon said the government is looking at buying back, either through a tender or debt exchange, at least $800 million worth of expensive foreign debt to better manage its liabilities. She said a tender or debt exchange may happen later this year. Write to Cris Larano at cris.larano@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 05, 2012 02:07 ET (06:07 GMT)