By Chino S. Leyco
Setting a sweet example for others, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III shared that he actually bought small-denominated government securities for his grandchildren as his way to encourage them to invest in building a more vibrant future for their generation.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
To entice young Filipinos, especially the millennials, to invest their extra cash or savings in the government’s retail treasury bonds (RTBs), Dominguez disclosed in a recent meeting with his staff about his purchase of the IOUs for his six grandchildren whose ages are from nine to 22 years-old.
“We want this to benefit the small savers and overseas Filipinos,” said Dominguez, noting the annual interest rate offered by the Bureau of the Treasury for the five-year RTBs was a historic high of 6.25 percent.
This means that a minimum investment of P5,000 would yield P1,250 over a five-year period, while an investment of P100,000 would yield P25,000 — or a lot bigger return for the would-be investor when compared to putting his or her money in a regular bank savings account.
“I’m buying for my six grandchildren,” Dominguez said during the meeting.
His eldest grandchild is 22, while two are 13 years old, one is 11 and the youngest two are nine years old.
A total of P235.94 billion was raised by the government from the sale of RTBs as of Friday when the offering closed.
National Treasurer Rosalia De Leon said that the bond issuance has generated “a lot of support from small investors, particularly with the online system even getting as low as the minimum of P5,000 for those who wanted to grab RTBs.”