Outstanding gov’t IOUs hit P3.82T in January

THE TOTAL amount of outstanding government-issued debt paper slid to P3.82 trillion as of the end January as a number of treasury bonds matured that month.

The latest Bureau of the Treasury data showed that the January figure was below the P3.88 trillion recorded as of the end of 2015.

At the start of the year, treasury bonds accounted for the bulk of the outstanding debt paper, with a face amount totaling P3.55 trillion. Outstanding treasury bills, meanwhile, reached P274 million.

Of the outstanding T-bills, P84.1 billion was from the auction of 91-day IOUs; P93.1 billion from 182-day debt paper, and P96.8 billion from 364-day treasury bills.

As for the outstanding T-bonds, three-year IOUs amounted P145.5 billion; five-year debt paper, P226.4 billion; seven-year treasury bonds, P469.1 billion, and 10-year T-bonds, P374.4 billion.

For 10-year agrarian reform bonds, the outstanding amount was P6.7 billion; 20-year IOUs, P298.3 billion; and 25-year debt paper, nearly P236 billion.

Of the $6.582-million Philippine Par Bond redenominated into 28.5 years, P97.1 million remained outstanding.

Also outstanding was P753.2 billion in retail treasury bonds; P50 billion in 25-year CB-BoL T-bonds; P965.8 billion in benchmark bonds; and P23.9 billion in onshore dollar T-bond.

For the first quarter, the government had programmed to borrow P135 billion in treasury bills and bonds.

In February, the Philippines sold $2 billion in 25-year sovereign bonds at a record-low yield of 3.7 percent, which the government had attributed to sustained investor confidence despite global volatility.

The coupon for the US dollar-denominated global bonds maturing in 2041 was lower than the initial pricing guidance of 4 percent as well as the lowest ever for an offshore issuance.

Of the proceeds, $500 million will be new money to be infused into the budget, while $1.5 billion will be switched to retire previously issued IOUs maturing between October this year and October 2034.