Gov’t to borrow P180B from domestic sources

NATIONAL TREASURER ROBERTO TAN. INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

The government has raised to P180 billion the amount it will borrow domestically in the first quarter of 2017 through the sale of T-bills and T-bonds.

The Bureau of the Treasury will also return to the more frequent weekly auctions instead of just twice a month.

In a Dec. 27 memorandum to government securities eligible dealers, National Treasurer Roberto B. Tan said the Treasury would offer P90 billion each in treasury bills and bonds from January to March.

The total volume of IOUs to be offered in the first three months of 2017 exceeded the P135 billion worth of offering per quarter in the past few years.

For treasury bills, a total of P15 billion—P6 billion in 91-day, P5 billion in 182-day and P4 billion in 364-day—will be auctioned off on the following dates: Jan. 16, Jan. 30, Feb. 13, Feb. 27, March 13 and March 27.

For treasury bonds, the Treasury will sell P15 billion in three-year debt paper on Jan. 10, Feb. 7 and March 7.

The Treasury will also auction off P15 billion in five-year government securities on Jan. 24, Feb. 21 as well as March 21.

As domestic interest rates remain relatively low, the Duterte administration wanted to finance its programmed wider budget deficit equivalent to 3 percent of the gross domestic product in the next six years through a borrowing mix of 80-percent local and 20-percent foreign.

Gross borrowings for 2017 had been programmed to reach P631.3 billion, lower than the 2016 program of P695.4 billion.

In 2017, the government plans to borrow P505 billion locally on top of P126.3 billion externally.