Treasury to borrow P120B from local creditors in Q1 2013

The government plans to sell P45 billion worth of Treasury bills and P75 billion worth of Treasury bonds for a total of P120 billion borrowed from the local debt market in the first quarter of next year , said National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon. For the last quarter of 2012, the Treasury programmed to borrow P90 billion, with half of the worth in  91-, 182-, and 364-day Treasury bills and the other half in 5-, 7- and 10-year Treasury bonds. The 90 billion is the lowest quarterly amount the government is borrowing domestically this year, with its internal debts reaching P117 billion, P106 billion and P108 billion in the first three quarters. The Treasury will also cut the frequency of the debt sales from every week to only twice amount, but will also increase the auction size correspondingly. According to the new schedule, the government will auction P15 billion worth of T-bills on January 9, February 6 and March 6, 2013—an auction size double the current amount of P7.5 billion. It will also sell P25 billion worth of T-bondson January 24 (seven-year T-bonds); February 21 (10-year T-bonds); and on March 21 (20-year T-bonds)—an auction size nearly three times the current amount of P9 billion. The decision was made due to the high level of domestic liquidity, said De Leon. The government borrows from local and foreign creditors to fund its budget deficit, which at P127.3 billion isway below its 2012 cap of P279 billion with only one month left in the year. — BM, GMA News