Global government borrowing to near $5 trln - S&P

NEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Debt issuance by national, regional and local governments worldwide is expected to rise by 1.5 percent this year to $4.98 trillion from $4.90 trillion in 2007, Standard & Poor's said in a report on Friday.

A sharp increase in U.S. debt issuance at the federal and state levels due to fiscal stimulus and weaker economic growth should be largely offset by lower debt issuance by central governments of Japan and Latin America, S&P said. Gross issuance of emerging market sovereigns is expected to rise 5.4 percent to $757 billion, S&P said. (Reporting by Dena Aubin; Editing by Tom Hals)