Gov’t eyes overseas bond issuance

MANILA, Philippines–The Philippines plans to return to the offshore bond market, Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima said on Thursday.

“I think it’s important to supply our investors abroad with fresh Philippine debt paper so they can maintain their access to our financial markets,” Purisima told reporters on the sidelines of the 44th International Association of Financial Executives Institutes (IAFEI) World Congress.

Purisima, however, declined to provide details of the government plans to tap the overseas bond markets anew.

The finance chief nonetheless noted that now might be a good time for an overseas bond issuance as the share of the country’s foreign debt to the gross domestic product (GDP) had gone down.

The Philippines’ last foray into the foreign debt market was in January, when it issued 10-year benchmark bonds due in 2024 at 4.5 percent.

Prior to last January’s overseas bond issuance, the country had sold debt paper to investors abroad in 2012.

Since the country’s coffers are awash in cash, the government had been tapping largely domestic investors.

The Bureau of the Treasury early this month made a full award of the P20 billion worth of Treasury bills it auctioned off, as the appetite for short-term debt paper among local investors remained unaffected by an interest rate hike scenario in the United States.