Government plans to borrow P170 billion in June
THE government is planning to borrow P170 billion from the domestic market in June, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).
In an advisory on Wednesday, BTr said the borrowing plan for next month is similar to the volume offered in May. It plans to issue a mix of short-term and long-term securities.
The BTr will hold auctions for Treasury bills (T-bills) every week to raise P110 billion, while fortnightly auctions for Treasury bonds (T-bonds) will raise P60 billion.
According to the BTr, P20 billion worth of 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day T-bills will be offered every Monday — June 1, 8, 15 and 22. It will offer P15 billion worth of 35-day papers on June 2 and 16.
For the long-term tenors, BTr will raise P30 billion in three-year T-bonds on June 9 and another P30 billion via five-year notes on June 23.
“We have extended the curve to 3 and 5 years with appetite on this segment for yield pickup. We retained 35-day to provide additional liquidity layer and we are just rolling it over,” National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon told reporters via Viber.
A bond trader said the borrowing program was unexpected as the BTr opted not to extend longer tenors beyond five-year bonds despite the demand.
“Quite surprised they didn’t go for longer tenors given the ample demand. However, this may also be an indicator that the demand for longer tenored bonds isn’t that strong yet,” a bond trader said via Viber.
In May, the government raised a total of P226.3 billion from a mix of T-bills and T-bonds, excluding the results of the tap facility on Wednesday.
The total borrowings exceeded the P170-billion borrowing program set for this month after opening the tap facility after each auction and upsizing the volume awarded on some instances. — Beatrice M. Laforga
