Marcos admin raises $2B from dollar bonds sale

The Marcos administration raised a total of $2 billion from its debut in the foreign commercial bond market — $500 million in five-year bonds; $750 million in 10.5-year bonds; and $750 million in 25-year green bonds.

The total amount was a little less than the $2.25 billion raised in the national government’s previous outing in March but with much higher interest rates.

According to the Bureau of the Treasury, the five-year bond was priced at 5.17 percent. In March the Duterte administration raised $500 million from five-year bonds at 3.229 percent.

Also, the 10.5-year bonds were priced at 5.609 percent (compared to $750 million at 3.556 percent in March) while the 25-year bonds were tagged at 6.1 percent ($1 billion at 4.2 percent in March).

In March, the Russian invasion of Ukraine was just starting to send ripples of uncertainty across the global economy. Similarly just beginning was the trend of monetary policy normalization among central banks, especially among developed economies like the United States, which has sent the US dollar to its strongest position against other currencies in decades.