PHL retail treasury bond sale starts Feb. 21

The Philippine government is raising at least P40 billion by selling at P40 billion of retail treasury bonds (RTBs) to individual and institutional investors starting Feb. 21.   Proceeds from the bond sale will pay for maturing loans, the Bureau of Treasury said Monday.   The bond sale will start on Feb. 21 and close on Feb. 28, said Deputy National Treasurer Eduardo Mendiola in an interview with reporters.   The P40-billion consists of P20 billion worth of 20-year bonds and P20 billion of 15-year bonds, Mendiola noted.   The bureau is giving nine banks and financial institutions the mandate to sell the RTBs, Mendiola said.   The selling agents include First Metro Investments Corp., BDO Capital, BPI Capital, Metrobank Group, China Banking Corp., Deutsche Bank, Land Bank of the Philippines, Philippine National Bank, and Development Bank of the Philippines.   The float is the first RTB sale for the year. National Treasurer Roberto Tan last week said that government intends to sell as much as P80 billion worth of retail bonds to redeem maturing obligations.   Tan also said that government aims to sell RTBs at least twice a year to fill the needs of individual investors. — VS, GMA News