Govt offers first retail treasury bonds under Marcos admin

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) has launched the 28th tranche of its retail treasury bonds, the government’s first offering under the Marcos administration.

“This issuance serves as an important component of the national government’s fundraising efforts to finance our development programs aimed at building a sustainable, inclusive, and broad-based economy,” said Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno at the launching program of the bond offering on Tuesday (August 23).

ary Diokno said that retail treasury bonds are safe, low-risk, and affordable investment instruments.

With a minimum investment amount of P5,000, retail treasury bonds allow investors to contribute to nation-building while growing their hard-earned savings with better returns.

“[T]hese relatively higher yielding government securities strengthen financial inclusion and encourage broader participation in the capital market,” said Secretary Diokno.

Retail treasury bonds have been the strongest performing financial instrument in the Treasury’s portfolio of bond offerings in the last two decades.

Since the first issuance in 2001, the government has raised over P4.37 trillion from these offerings.

Secretary Diokno said that the country’s growing retail sector is proof that the retail treasury bonds are a viable pillar of domestic financing.

With their consistently strong reception from both local and overseas investors, the retail treasury bonds now account for around 35 percent of BTr’s outstanding government securities.

For 2022, the government aims to raise P2.2 trillion to enable the economy’s strong and resilient growth.

As part of its prudent debt management strategy and domestic capital market development initiatives, around 73 percent of the government’s financing was drawn from domestic sources from 2016 to 2021.

The Marcos administration plans to continue this borrowing mix by obtaining 75 percent or around P1.65 trillion from domestic markets to insulate the country from foreign exchange volatilities due to ongoing global uncertainties.

In the first half of 2022, the government has already raised an estimated P741 billion.

Secretary Diokno said that the use of digital platforms is key to achieving the government’s targets and bolstering investor appreciation for government securities.

The BTr has been at the forefront of wielding digital tools in its efforts to broaden access to the securities market.

Digital platforms such as the Bonds.PH app, the Overseas Filipino Bank Mobile Banking app, LANDBANK iAccess, and the Treasury’s Online Ordering Facility, have made investing more accessible, convenient, and secure for retail investors.

The BTr has also launched FiLi, a mobile application that allows first-time investors better understanding of investing and financial planning.

Through these innovations, overseas Filipinos from over 41 countries contributed to the success of the last retail treasury bond tranche, according to Secretary Diokno.

He said that the government will continue to develop these platforms and harness current technologies such as blockchain to strengthen the efficiency and inclusivity of the government securities market.

“I invite you all to invest in the 28th tranche of retail treasury bonds. Your investment is a direct contribution to the development of a truly inclusive, broad-based, and sustainable Philippine economy,” said Secretary Diokno.