Government sells P7.5-billion T-bills on strong demand

MANILA, Philippines – The government successfully sold P7.5 billion worth of 91, 182 and 364-day Treasury bills (T-bills) yesterday on the back of strong demand for government debt papers.

National Treasurer Roberto Tan said investors looking for safe havens where they can park their cash opted to go to government debt papers.

“Demand is very robust especially in the 91-day. The bids were aggressive. There is a report from the US about quantitative easing and therefore there is some view that there could be some action by local authorities on this,” Tan told reporters after the auction.

The 91-day T-bill fetched an average rate of 0.745 percent from 1.249 percent previously as total tenders for the paper reached P7.814 billion.

The 182-day T-bill fetched an average rate of 1.445 percent, down from 1.713 percent previously. Tenders for this paper amounted to P8.193 billion, more than three times the P2.5 billion offered by the government.

For the 364-day debt paper, the yield dropped to 1.906 percent from 2.22 percent as total tenders reached P7.86 billion.

 This developed as Tan said the government is already firming up the timetable for the planned retail treasury bond (RTB) sale.

RTBs are debt papers issued by the government for as low as P5,000. These instruments are ideal options for retail investors who want to park their funds in government debt papers.