T-bill rates could drop anew as foreign interest in PHL grows — HSBC head

Treasury bill rates already fell to record lows at Monday’s auction, but they could drop even more as interest in the Philippines grows among overseas markets, the incoming head of Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corp.’s Philippines office said Monday. “The strong T-bill result is already a clear indication of how the foreign exchange market will play. The point there is that there is going to be strong interest, specifically from offshore markets and players who are putting their money in strong emerging markets like the Philippines [who have] got a good credit story to tell,” said Jose Arnulfo Veloso, who will become HSBC Philippines’ first Filipino CEO on December 24. Veloso also urged Filipinos with dollar inflows such as exporters and overseas workers and their families to consult their banks about tools and services that could help them manage their resources and protect them from further peso appreciation. He also expects that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will monitor and document the inflows. “I think both the BSP and the national government would like to review it because everything on the extreme will not be healthy,” Veloso said. “The BSP has got a lot of tools to be able to do it...There may be further documentation of more inflows,” he also said. The BSP earlier said that it would use "creative measures", besides interest rate cuts, to curb the negative impact of foreign capital inflows. — BM, GMA News