The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said Monday its raised a record P584.86 billion through the public offer of retail treasury bond (RTB), securing a large amount of funds the government needs to bridge the budget deficit gap.
The new RTBs, which will mature in February 202, were offered from Feb. 13 through 23.
The BTr initially raised P212.72 billion during the 13 February auction, when the coupon of 6.25 percent was set. During the nine-day offer an additional P372.14 billion orders were secured from investors, including P243.45 billion through the exchange of previous auctioned RTBs maturing in March.
The 30th RTB was made available for as low as P5,000 through the traditional over-the-counter placement in bank branches, as well as digital channels such as the BTr Online Ordering Facility, the Bonds.PH mobile app, the Overseas Filipino Bank mobile banking app, and the Landbank mobile banking app.
Proceeds from the RTB 30 issuance will be directed towards much needed funding support for the government’s various programs under the agriculture, infrastructure, education, and healthcare sectors, among others. The budget deficit this year is projected to hit P1.362 trillion.
Development Bank of the Philippines and Land Bank of the Philippines were the Joint Lead Issue Managers, while BDO Capital & Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp., China Bank Capital Corp., First Metro Investment Corp., PNB Capital and Investment Corp., and Union Bank of the Philippines were the joint issue managers for RTB 30.
