Gov’t raises ₱235 billion from new 10-year treasury notes offer

The Philippine government, through the Bureau of Treasury (BTr), has raised P235 billion to strengthen its financial muscle after auctioning new 10-year fixed-rate treasury notes, which was met with overwhelming demand from local institutional investors.

In a statement on Thursday, the BTr said the three-day offer period, February 18 to 20, for the new 10-year fixed-rate treasury notes issuance was cut short after reaching the target amount to be raised on the first day of the issuance.

This as total tenders during the February 18 rate-setting auction reached P328.5 billion or 11 times the initial P10-billion offer.

The Treasury added that the opening of its tap facility, a day after, attracted P135.8 billion in offers.

The BTr said the robust demand seen during the offer came ahead of the anticipated policy rate cut by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as investors look for high-yielding investments.

Of the total P235 billion raised, P107.07 billion came from the rate-setting auction itself, while P127.93 billion were through acceptance of tenders from the opening of the tap facility, according to the Treasury.

The fixed-rate notes are set to mature in 2026 with a coupon rate of 5.925%.

“Apart from supporting the national government’s financing requirements, this 10-year fixed-rate treasury notes issuance underscores our commitment to establishing liquid benchmark securities that strengthen secondary market activity,” said National Treasurer Sharon Almanza. — Ted Cordero/BM, GMA Integrated News