Gov’t borrows P360 billion from small investors
By Chino S. Leyco
The Duterte government completed its borrowing from small investors through the sale of retail Treasury bonds (RTB), the Bureau of the Treasury announced.
In a statement, Monday, Nov. 29, the Treasury said the government sold P360-billion worth of RTBs that would mature in 5.5-years. The bonds or IOUs would be settled on Dec. 2, 2021.
A total of P330.5 billion and P29.5 billion were raised in new money and bond exchange, respectively.
Of that amount, P113.5 billion was raised in the RTB auction last Nov. 16, and an additional P217 billion throughout the offer period.
The treasury said proceeds from the issuance will be used to help the country respond to the challenges posed by the pandemic and will support various programs for economic resiliency and recovery.
“The healthy macroeconomic environment, characterized by sufficient domestic market liquidity and downward trend in inflation supported our third retail issuance, or the second peso-denominated jumbo offering for the year,” National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon said.
During the two-week offer period, the treasury partnered with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to conduct webinars with overseas Filipinos (OFs) to discuss the features and how to invest in RTBs.
The financial literacy sessions for OFs were conducted in more than 50 cities and countries around the world, including those in East Africa, South America, and Europe.
The RTB was made available for as low as P5,000 through the traditional over- the-counter placement in bank branches.
The IOUs were also sold through digital channels such as the treasury’s RTB Online Ordering Facility, the Bonds.PH mobile app, the Overseas Filipino Bank Mobile Banking App, and the Land Bank Mobile Banking App.
“With the digital platforms that we have introduced in the past years, we have also seen how more and more Filipinos are getting into the habit of investing their hard- earned money to secure the future not only of themselves, but also of their loved ones,” De Leon said.
“As such, we at the BTr will continue to introduce new products and channels in the future to allow our individual investors to diversify their personal portfolios, as well as reduce the friction costs and barriers to investing”, she added.
The Development Bank of the Philippines and Land Bank of the Philippines were the joint lead issue managers for the RTB offering.
They are joined by BDO Capital & Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp., China Bank Capital Corp., First Metro Investment Corp., PNB Capital and Investment Corp., RCBC Capital Corp., and Union Bank of the Philippines as joint issue managers.