BOGOTA, Dec 16 (Reuters) – Colombia will carry out “many” debt management operations in local and international markets next year, before the end of the current government’s term in August, in a bid to continue easing fiscal pressures, the head of public credit at the finance ministry said on Monday.
Colombia saved more than 21 trillion pesos ($5.5 billion) in debt service payments this year through liability management operations, public credit director Javier Cuellar told Reuters in an interview, projecting savings for 2026 will also be “a big number.”
Latin America’s fourth-largest economy will end this year with a fiscal deficit below the latest target of 7.1% of gross domestic product, he said, adding that next year the figure could come in below the 6.2% target set in the ministry’s fiscal framework.
“I would like to show a deficit below 6% of GDP for 2026 in the financial plan,” Cuellar said.
The targets will be updated between late December and early January.
As part of its financing strategy, the government could explore new international markets such as Asia, Cuellar added, after issuing debt this year in euros and dollars.
The ministry is also considering direct placements of local TES bonds with international investors like hedge funds to reduce auction volumes and sales to state entities, he said.
(Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra and Carlos Vargas, editing by Julia Symmes Cobb)
