As of end-June 2020, the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) stood at an all-time high of $ billion, the highest ever in Philippine history. This is enough to cover 8.4 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments for services and primary income. It is also equivalent to 7.3 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity.
Certain emerging markets, notably in Asia and among oil exporters, have become the “financiers of the world”. They are indeed large net savers, with hefty current account surpluses, in the order of USD 800 billion last year. Interestingly, the net capital outflows from these emerging markets finance the deficits of a number of mature economies, the United States, in particular.