Treasury Officials undertake Study Mission to Brazil and Argentina

Eight (8) officials from the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) of the Philippines, headed by Atty. Erwin D. Sta. Ana from the Office of the National Treasurer, visited Brazil for a Study Mission on the overview of debt management in Brazil on August 12 to 16.

The Study Mission was part of a capacity-building effort under the Strengthening Debt Management Project being managed by BTr and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Brazil, along with Argentina, was chosen as model of international best practices in debt management particularly in the institutional set-up, systems and human resource development based on consultations made by the BTr officials with UNCTAD, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid) and other relevant international organizations prior to their visit.

In Brazil, the delegates met with their counterparts from the National Treasury (Tesouro Nacional) of Brazil to discuss about the debt management in Brazil under the Public Debt Under-secretariat of the said Brazilian agency in Brasilia. From Brasilia, the team proceeded to Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil and then to Argentina for further study visits.

The delegates also took the opportunity to learn more about Brazil's issuance of inflation-linked bonds which are bonds that provide protection against inflation to help lessen borrowing costs. END