The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is looking for investment opportunities to diversify its foreign exchange reserves, its top official said. “We continue to look for opportunities to diversify into other currencies and asset classes,” BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. told reporters last Friday. The country’s gross international reserves (GIR) dipped to $83.818 billion in February after the government purchased some dollars to settle its maturing obligations. Prior to this, it amounted to a record $85.274 billion. Tetangco was reacting to a study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies released last week that said the country’s reserves, which serve as cushion in times of external shocks, are “higher than the optimal level.” It said keeping such “passive” liquidity may have an opportunity costs for the Philippines in terms of gaining more by investing funds more “actively.” This was not the first time a red flag was raised with regard to the country’s huge reserves. Last year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also warned economies against holding “excessive” GIR for the same reasons.
BSP seeks investment channels to diversify forex reserves
