PH seeks to raise $1B from global bonds to beef up national budget

Rosalia de Leon

The Philippines is eyeing to raise at least $1 billion from the issuance of US dollar-denominated global bonds to inject money into the budget.

The Bureau of the Treasury on Monday started to offer benchmark-sized, or a minimum of $500-million each, 10.5- and 25-year bonds.

These bonds maturing in Jan. 2032 and July 2046 will be settled on July 6.

National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon said the funds to be raised from this debt issuance would be spent for general budget support.

The Treasury so far this year raised a total of $3 billion in euro-denominated global bonds and yen-denominated samurai bonds. The government had programmed to borrow $7 billion from the offshore commercial market in 2021.

In all, the government will borrow P3.1 trillion, mostly from domestic sources this year, to finance the prolonged fight against the health and socioeconomic crises inflicted by COVID-19.

During the previous issuance of US-dollar bonds in December last year, the Philippines sold $2.75 billion across two tenors of also 10.5 and 25 years.

Also on Monday, the Treasury fully awarded P15 billion in short-dated treasury bills as rates fell across-the-board.

—Ben O. de Vera INQ