Outstanding gov’t IOUs increases to P3.9T

The value of outstanding debt paper issued by the national government slightly rose to P3.9 trillion as of October, the latest Bureau of the Treasury data showed.

The end-October figure was higher than the P3.88 trillion recorded at end-September.

As of end-October, treasury bonds contributed the bulk of outstanding IOUs with a face amount totaling P3.62 trillion, up from P3.6 trillion a month ago.

Outstanding treasury bills as of end-October amounted to P281.1 billion, down from P282.5 billion in September. The Treasury in October partly awarded the benchmark 91-day treasury bills due to lower bid rates, accepting only P4.41 billion out of the P8-billion offering, while all the P6-billion each in 182- and 364-day debt instruments were sold.

Of the outstanding treasury bills, P85.4 billion were from the auction of 91-day debt paper, P95 billion from 182-day IOUs and P100.7 billion from 364-day securities.

As for the outstanding treasury bonds, three-year debt paper stood at P145.5 billion; five-year IOUs, P221.7 billion; seven-year bonds, P469.1 billion, and 10-year bonds, P380.8 billion. The Treasury awarded only P16.22 billion of the P25-billion re-issued five-year bonds offered last October as higher bid rates mainly due to external uncertainties pushed the yield upward.

For 10-year agrarian reform bonds, the outstanding amount was P6.8 billion; 20-year debt paper, P298.3 billion, and 25-year IOUs, almost P236 billion.

Of the $6.58-billion Philippine Par Bond rescheduled into 28.5 years, P97.1 million remained outstanding.

Also outstanding were P753.2 billion in retail treasury bonds; P50 billion in 25-year CB-BoL treasury bonds; P23.5 billion in onshore dollar T-bond, and P1.031 trillion in benchmark bonds.

The government in September swapped P237 billion in illiquid state IOUs with new benchmark bonds due 2025 and 2040. The domestic debt swap was launched last August to inject more liquidity into the market amid external volatility.