Treasury to hold RTBs roadshow in Cebu today

CEBU, Philippines — The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) is holding a roadshow today in Cebu for the offering of retail treasury bonds (RTBs), the second offer by the government this year.

The roadshow, happening in Radisson Blu Hotel at 5 p.m., is expected to be attended by potential investors in Cebu and the banking community.

The auction of the five-year RTBs set a coupon of 4.625 percent as the BTr decided to expand its offering from the initial announcement of P30 billion to P130 billion given tremendous market demand.

Total offers reached P191.8 billion for the securities maturing in 2022, which will be offered to the general investing public at minimum denominations of P5,000 from Nov. 20 to 29, 2017.

Earlier this year, the BTr successfully auctioned P70 billion and was able to raise an additional P111 billion during the public offer period.

RTBs have become a stable platform in the Philippine government’s financing program, taking advantage of ample domestic liquidity.

“We have been encouraged by the response of the general investing public when we offered retail treasury bonds back in March to April,” National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said in a statement.

“Investing in retail treasury bonds is a way for the public to become more aware of affordable and secure investment options that are available to them," she said.

Offering RTBs to the general investing public is one of the ways for the government to develop the local capital market by expanding the investor base of government securities.

Moreover, this presents a viable option for Filipinos looking to achieve their financial goals while helping meet the national government’s financing needs.

“For the 20th offering of retail treasury bonds, we are taking advantage of the added liquidity in the market leading up to the Christmas season. We also know that many Filipinos will have a ‘spend’ mindset during these times, so we want to present them with an investment option that will have multiple returns to them,” de Leon also said.

“The best gift that Filipinos could give to themselves or their loved ones is financial stability, and by investing in retail treasury bonds, they are opening up more economic opportunities for themselves and their families, enabling themselves to rely beyond a single source of income," she added.

Availing of RTBs is easy and convenient.

Interested investors just need to have a peso account with the banks identified as accredited selling agents of RTBs. It is through the peso account that the principal and interest payments will be made.

The Development Bank of the Philippines and Land Bank of the Philippines are the joint lead issue managers for this 20th RTB offering and are joined by BDO Capital & Investment Corp, BPI Capital Corp, China Bank Capital Corp, First Metro Investment Corp, and SB Capital Investment Corp as joint issue managers.

The low-risk nature of and the relative ease of investing in RTBs have made them an attractive investment product for Filipinos.

Moreover, they have been utilized to augment funding for the administration’s 10-point socioeconomic agenda, which includes an aggressive push for infrastructure. (FREEMAN)