First retail treasury bond under Marcos raises P420.4B

The Marcos administration’s first foray into selling retail treasury bonds (RTBs) raised P420.4 billion, which will be spent on priority government programs and projects, including infrastructure.

National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon on Friday said the switch component of the Bureau of the Treasury’s (BTr) 28th RTB offering hit a record P108.5 billion. This covered bonds maturing late this year and early next year which were swapped with the  new 5.5-year IOUs, which fetched a coupon of 5.75 percent.

According to De Leon, extended bond holdings reflected the domestic debt market’s confidence not only in government securities as an investment but also in the economy as a whole.

“Switch also lessens refinancing risk and extends maturity,” De Leon said.

Fresh funds amounting to P311.9 billion were borrowed through the latest RTB offering.

De Leon said they were “very much” happy with the volume of new money raised.

The two-week RTB offer started on Aug. 23 and ended on Friday. Retail investors acquired RTBs at a minimum of P5,000 per bond, and then in multiples of that amount. They bought RTBs from agent-banks over-the-counter, via the BTr’s online ordering facility, as well as through mobile apps of some participating banks