Gov’t raising P200B via T-bills, bonds sale in August

The Bureau of the Treasury will borrow P200 billion from the domestic market in August as the economy remains awash in cash despite the prolonged pandemic.

In a July 28 memorandum to all government securities eligible dealers, National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon said the Treasury would auction off P15 billion in T-bills—P5 billion each in benchmark 91-day, 182-day and 364-day bills—every Monday in August.

The Treasury will also sell P35 billion in bonds every Tuesday of next month—10-year bonds on Aug. 3, seven-year on Aug. 10, 20-year on Aug. 17 and 11-year on Aug. 24.

De Leon last Monday said that despite the lurking threat from the more contagious Delta variant of COVID-19, “liquidity is still very much around, looking for a home.”

For 2021, the national government will source P2.58 trillion of its P3.03-trillion programmed gross borrowings from the local debt market, mainly through the sale of T-bills and bonds.

As for external borrowings, the Department of Finance on Monday said the Washington-based World Bank would lend the Philippines a total of $3.1 billion this year—the biggest annual lending program so far.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), meanwhile, said it was currently preparing a financing for the South Commuter Railway project, which will be up for approval by the Manila-based lender’s board by the fourth quarter.

The ADB will cofinance the 55-kilometer South Commuter Railway with the Japan International Cooperation Agency.