Marcos gov’t borrows fresh P210B via RTBs

MANILA, Philippines – The government was able to borrow over P200 billion via its 31st offering of retail Treasury bonds (RTBs), which were also made available in mobile e-wallet app GCash as part of efforts to broaden the investor base and promote financial inclusion.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said it had raised P210 billion in new money during the rate-setting auction of peso-denominated debt paper maturing in 2030, significantly higher than the initial target of P30 billion.

The offering was upsized amid strong investor demand, with total bids reaching P354.2 billion—an oversubscription of 11.8 times.

READ: More than P30 billion 5-year RTBs up for sale this August

That, in turn, allowed the government to borrow from small investors at a coupon rate of 6 percent. The Treasury may raise more funds during the public offer period, which began yesterday and runs until Aug. 15.

National Treasurer Sharon Almanza said up to P400 billion could be raised through a bond exchange program, allowing holders to swap their existing securities for the new RTBs. However, she noted that participation in such debt swaps typically ranges from 15 to 30 percent.

Ultimately, Almanza said the final tally would depend on the strength of investor demand. Last year, the government raised P584.86 billion through RTBs.

Local borrowings

“Last year was really record-breaking,” she said. “But we also want to manage the maturity in 2030, so probably it will not exceed the volume we raised last year.”

RTBs have become one of the government’s go-to sources of local borrowings to help plug its budget hole, which is projected to hit P1.6 trillion this year, equivalent to 5.5 percent of gross domestic product.

At the same time, proceeds from the upcoming fundraising activity could help the government repay some of its old debts.

Data showed that over P813 billion in outstanding T-bonds are falling due this year. And most of those retiring peso-denominated debts are RTBs amounting to P516.34 billion, which will mature in mid-August.

Small investors can buy RTBs for a minimum amount of P5,000. And they can now do that via GBonds platform, which was made available to GCash users starting July 25.

This could help retail investors contribute to the P2.6-trillion borrowing program of the Marcos administration for 2025.

The new platform allows fully verified users to access fixed-return government securities with a minimum investment of P500 and without any bank account requirement.

Previously, potential investors needed to have a bank account and were often required to do a branch visit in order to invest in government bonds. INQ