Gov’t to sell fewer T-bills, T-bonds in 2nd quarter

The Treasury bureau will likely sell fewer government securities locally in the second quarter as proceeds of the government’s fund-raising activities abroad start to trickle in, Finance officials said on Tuesday. The state’s borrowing program for the second quarter was still being finalized but would likely involve the sale of fewer Treasury bills and bonds, National Treasurer Roberto Tan told reporters. "Most likely, it will be biased against T-bills," he said, noting that the government would likely sell retail dollar bonds to Filipino workers abroad. Official development assistance loans will also start coming in by then, he pointed out. The Treasury is supposed to borrow P110.5 billion from the local market this quarter. The government is planning to sell P51 billion worth of 91-, 182- and 364-day T-bills, as well as P60.5 billion worth of T-bonds from January to March. The Philippines raised $1.5 billion from the sale of dollar-denominated bonds last January and another $1.1 billion from the sale of yen-denominated bonds in the Japanese market last month. The government is in dire need of funds to plug its widening budget gap. It hopes to trim the shortfall to P293 billion or 3.5 percent of economic output this year, from an all-time high of P298.5 billion or 3.9 percent of output last year. The government has to borrow here and abroad to finance spending given weak revenues. The government intends to issue retail bonds to Filipino workers overseas by end-April after getting the greenlight from the Monetary Board. Malacañang has authorized the Treasury bureau to sell up to $1 billion worth of the bonds. Tan said it intends to sell three- and five-year bonds. Underwriters of the bond sale include Bank of the Philippine Islands, First Metro Investment Corp., Land Bank of the Philippines and Philippine National Bank. — NPA, GMANews.TV