Gov’t to borrow P200B from local market in Nov.
THE GOVERNMENT plans to borrow P200 billion from the domestic market in November, as it takes advantage of the excess market liquidity.
In an advisory posted on Thursday, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said it would borrow P60 billion in Treasury bills (T-bills) and P140 billion in Treasury bonds (T-bonds) next month.
The November borrowing plan is the same as the October program, which in turn was smaller than the P250-billion borrowing plan in September.
The Treasury will offer T-bills worth P15 billion on Nov. 2, 8, 15 and 22, or P5 billion each in 91-, 182- and 364-day debt papers. Since Monday (Nov. 1) is a special nonworking holiday, the auction was moved to Tuesday (Nov. 2).
For the long-term tenors, the government will offer P35 billion in T-bonds every week, auctioning off five-year notes on Nov. 3 and Nov. 16, seven-year securities on Nov. 23 and 10-year T-bonds on Nov. 9.
A bond trader said that the mix of five-, seven-, and 10-year tenors are somewhat expected.
“We think BTr will be able to get better results this month given the amount of excess liquidity,” the trader said in a Viber message.
National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon told reporters in a Viber message on Tuesday that going into November, the government has sufficient financing buffers as it took advantage of the low rates seen previously.
Improving revenue collections and additional official development assistance inflows will also support the government’s cash position, she added.
The Treasury raised a total of P129.89 billion in October, falling short of the P200-billion program set for the month. Broken down, it raised the programmed P60 billion in T-bills and just P69.89 billion for the long-term tenors.
The BTr rejected all bids during the Oct. 19 T-bond auction as investors asked for higher returns due to lingering inflation concerns. The government also made partial awards of P15.58 billion on Oct. 5 and P19.315 billion on Oct. 26.
The government borrows from foreign and local sources to plug its budget deficit. The gap has reached P1.1 trillion in the nine months to September this year, or 29.56% higher than the shortfall last year.
The government plans to borrow P3 trillion from domestic and external sources this year to help fund a budget deficit seen to hit 9.3% of gross domestic product.
The government runs on a budget deficit as it spends more than the revenue it generates to support economic growth. It borrows from both local and foreign lenders to plug this fiscal gap seen to hit 9.3% of gross domestic product this year. — Jenina P. Ibañez
