DIGITALIZATION initiatives that will connect small investors to the local bond market are underway, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) reported during a Capital Market Development Council (CMDC) meeting.
The initiatives include the integration of Pesonet and Instapay payment platforms into the Bonds.ph mobile application, with the aim of allowing small-time traders and investors to have an easier time buying and selling on the local bond market and through other applications.
National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said that the BTr was also working on bond financing options for local government units in order to make them more fiscally sustainable. This is in light of the increased funds they will receive from national tax collections as a result of the Mandanas ruling, which entered into effect this year.
The CMDC meeting was held on June 6, and was also attended by Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, who co-chairs the CMDC. The meeting was the last under the current administration.
The move comes after the successful digital bond issuance of Union Bank of the Philippines on June 2, which saw the P1-billion program oversubscribed by 11 times, raising P11 billion from about 900 investors.
Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. Chief Executive Officer Ma. Theresa B. Ravalo said that the digital process for the bond issuance was “seamless” for underwriters, issuers, and bondholders.
She added that the process involved in the issuance was compatible with existing market infrastructure, while still being compliant with existing securities laws and regulations.
This issuance makes the Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp. the first national market infrastructure in Asia to launch a distributed ledger or blockchain-based digital registry and depository. — Tobias Jared Tomas
