Treasury calls on Pinoys to invest in retail bonds

CEBU, Philippines — The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) has invited investors from Cebu to participate in the government's latest retail treasury bond (RTB) sale as it seeks to engage more Filipinos to invest.

BTr held on Thursday a roadshow on the RTB sale at Radisson Blu Cebu, urging Cebuanos to invest in the government's 22nd tranche of RTBs.

“The resounding success of our RTB issuances highlights the increasing awareness of Filipinos on investment opportunities that do not only help them realize their personal goals, but also allow them to directly partake in building our nation,” National Treasurer Rosalia De Leon said.

Proceeds from the RTB sale will form part of the government’s funding for its infrastructure and social services program.

The BTr successfully raised P113.8 billion during the primary auction of the new 5-year RTBs, its first for 2019. The coupon was set at 6.25% following strong market demand which saw the auction more than 4 times oversubscribed as total tenders reached P121.8 billion.

The offering was subsequently expanded from the initial P30 billion on offer to take advantage of the favorable rate and healthy market appetite. The RTBs are available to the general investing public between February 26 and March 8 at minimum denominations of P5,000.

Interested investors only 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. Furthermore, the BTr is introducing an ordering facility to make RTBs available for online purchase. The primary objective of this initiative is to encourage wider participation among individual investors and expand reach to overseas Filipinos.

RTBs are generally considered low-risk for investors, allowing them to earn a fixed interest based on prevailing market rates and are paid quarterly during the term of the bond.

Authorized selling agents for RTBs include major lenders such as BDO Capital and Investment Corp, BDO, BPI Capital Corp, China Banking Corp, Citibank, Philippine Bank of Communications, CTBC Bank (Philippines) Corp, DBP, East West Banking Corp, and First Metro Investment Corp, among others.