Government sets P150-B borrowings in Q4

MANILA, Philippines — The government is set to borrow P150 billion through the issuance of Treasury bills and Treasury bonds in the fourth quarter, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

The amount, however, was lower than the P195 billion in borrowings programmed for the third quarter.

In a memorandum addressed to government securities eligible dealers, the BTr said it is planning to sell P75 billion in T-bills and P75 billion in T-bonds in the fourth quarter.

“December really is a shorter month with respect to fund raising. We usually just do auctions in the first two weeks. So a total of about P150 billion will be offered for the fourth quarter,” Deputy Treasurer Erwin Sta. Ana said.

For every auction scheduled on Oct. 9 and 23, Nov. 13 and 27, and Dec. 11, the BTr said it intends to sell P15 billion in T-bills.

The BTr has programmed to sell P6 billion in of 91-day T-bills, P5 billion in six-year T-bills, and P4 billion in one year T-bills for each auction.

Meanwhile, the BTr will offer four-year bonds on Oct. 3 and Nov. 21, seven-year bonds on Oct. 17 and Dec. 5, and 10-year bonds on Nov. 7.

The bonds will have an issue size of P15 billion each for every auction.

“Liquidity levels are quite ample as evidenced by the auction (yesterday for treasury bills). In general, it is oversubscribed. That goes to show that there’s enough liquidity in the system,” Sta. Ana said.