3-year retail T-bond issuance raises P121.7B

The government raised P121.76 billion from its latest issuance of three-year retail treasury bonds (RTB) to small investors, National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said.

De Leon told the Inquirer on Friday that there was “strong reception, particularly from retail investors” for the Duterte administration’s fourth RTB issuance and the government’s 21st.

“We were pleased to see increasing awareness on RTBs,” de Leon added.

On May 30, the Treasury sold an initial P66 billion at 4.875 percent, while it offered the IOUs maturing in 2021 in denominations of P5,000 until June 8.

Settlement will be on Wednesday, June 13.

Last December, the Treasury raised P255.4 billion from RTBs, the biggest issuance to date, selling the five-year debt paper at 4.625 percent.

In April last year, it sold P181 billion in three-year RTBs at a coupon of 4.25 percent.

In September 2016, the Treasury issued P100 billion in 10-year RTBs at a 3.5-percent yield.

As of end-April, outstanding RTBs had amounted to P1.2 trillion, the latest Treasury data showed.

Proceeds from the RTB sale will augment the budget for the Duterte administration’s massive infrastructure program.