‘Premyo’ bonds raise P6.56B with strong push from overseas Filipinos

MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of the Treasury raised a bigger amount of P6.56 billion from its premyo bonds this year despite a lower yield and a pandemic-induced recession, as more Filipinos overseas invested in the one-year IOUs.

During Friday’s fourth-quarter raffle draw for the premyo bonds sold last year, National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said this year’s sales exceeded not only the P3-billion target but also the P4.96 billion in short-dated debt paper sold in 2019.

This year’s premyo bonds sold at P500 per bond not only served as an investment with an interest of 1.25 percent when it matures in December 2021, but also will give bondholders a chance to win bigger cash and non-cash prizes, including cars, during the upcoming quarterly raffle draws.

Last year’s premyo bonds, which matured on Friday, nonetheless fetched a higher yield of 3 percent.

This year, “investments were generated from 70 countries, and overseas Filipinos accounted for 15.7 percent of the total number of transactions,” De Leon said.

“Also, around 70.6 percent of individual accounts were made using the Bonds.PH and the Overseas Filipino Bank’s mobile applications,” De Leon added, as the premyo bonds were offered in more online channels.

The Treasury’s second premyo bonds offering stretched to over a month—from Nov. 11 to Dec. 11, compared to the three-week offer period when these IOUs were first sold in 2019.

The longer offer period not only took into consideration the prolonged COVID-19 quarantine restrictions on people and businesses, like banks, which acted as selling agents, but also aimed to reach out to more Filipinos living or working overseas.

“Our foray into innovative technologies that enabled convenient, safe and secure conduct of financial investments has allowed more Filipinos here and abroad to participate in premyo bonds,” De Leon said.

Even as the first day of the premyo bonds sale coincided with the so-called “11.11” sales promos of popular online marketplaces like Lazada, Shopee and Zalora, among others, De Leon said the Treasury managed to attract more small investors to spend their money on government securities.

“We are pleased to note that an increasing number of Filipinos still prioritized their future over the ephemeral joy of discount shopping,” De Leon said.

“We are also pleased to share that some of our corporations are now taking advantage of premyo bonds as a meaningful way of rewarding their employees during this Christmas season,” De Leon added.

The proceeds from the premyo bonds sale will also be spent to finance the ballooning funding requirements to fight the health and socioeconomic crises inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

TSB