PH sells P30-B retail bonds as bonus season peaks

The government will sell at least P30 billion in five-year retail treasury bonds (RTBs) next week while Filipinos are still planning what to do with their year-end bonuses.

In a Nov. 16 notice of offering to government securities eligible dealers, the Bureau of the Treasury said the peso-denominated fixed-rate debt paper would be offered to the public at a minimum of P5,000 on Nov. 20-29, for issuance on Dec. 4.

This will be the third time the Duterte administration will be borrowing from small investors.

The rate-setting auction will also be on Nov. 20. For this reason, the Treasury canceled the T-bonds auction scheduled on Nov. 21.

“We are always on the lookout for opportunities that would allow us to fund the Philippine government’s financing requirements, taking into consideration emerging conditions in the market. RTBs have been a staple platform in the government’s financing program,” National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said in a statement. She said this kind of instrument has also helped the government introduce to Filipinos the concept of savings.

Meanwhile, the Treasury on Thursday only partially awarded the 364-day T-bills it offered.

The P8-billion 91-day treasury bills and the P6-billion 182-day IOUs were both fully awarded. For the longer-tenored debt paper, the government took only P4.5 billion out of the P6-billion offered.

The 91- and 182-day T-bills fetched average rates of 2.148 percent and 2.563 percent. The 364-day rate was capped at an average of 2.952 percent.