Gov’t sets P270-billion borrowing program for fourth quarter

MANILA, Philippines — The national government is planning to borrow P270 billion from the domestic market in the last quarter through the issuance of Treasury bonds (T-bonds) and bills (T-bills), the Bureau of the Treasury said yesterday.

In a memorandum addressed to government securities eligible dealers (GSEDs), the BTr said it is programmed to auction off P180 billion worth of T-bills and P90 billion worth of T-bonds in the fourth quarter for a total amount of P270 billion.

This is lower than the P300 billion borrowing ceiling set for the third quarter, but higher than the P200 billion programmed in the same quarter last year.

National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon said the BTr decided to lower the borrowing program for the fourth quarter as government coffers are expected to be boosted by the release of program loans from multilateral institutions.

“Program loans are set to be disbursed this quarter,” De Leon said in a text message when asked about the decrease.

Deputy Treasurer Erwin Sta. Ana said the volume was lower also due to the holiday season in December.

According to the BTr, short-term securities or T-bills would be floated every Monday from Oct. 1 to Dec. 17 with a total volume of P15 billion each auction.

Broken down, short-term securities will comprise of P4 billion worth of 91-day, P5 billion worth 182-day, and P6 billion worth of 364-day securities each auction.

Meanwhile, Treasury bonds will still be auctioned every other week, from Oct. 9 to Dec. 18, according to the Treasury.

The BTr reduced the tenor buckets for T-bonds offering, now only including five years, seven years and 10 years. The previous quarter, the BTr offered three-year and 20-year debt papers.

Bonds of each tenor will have a total volume of P15 billion.

For 2018, the national government is programmed to borrow P986 billion from local and foreign lenders.

This is expected to rise by 20 percent to P1.19 trillion next year due to expectation of higher fiscal deficit next year.