Philippines says raises $2.4bn in retail T-bonds

MANILA: The Philippines raised 104 billion pesos ($2.4 billion) from the sale of retail Treasury bonds, the Bureau of Treasury said on Wednesday, giving it room to better manage its borrowing for the rest of the year.

National Treasurer Roberto Tan said the government would review its financing plan after the retail bond sale, which attracted orders of 135 billion pesos, more than four times the minimum issue size of 30 billion pesos.

The Bureau of Treasury said in a statement it had sold 33 billion pesos of 5-year retail bonds and 70.96 billion pesos of 10-year bonds. More than half of the total went to small investors and the rest to financial institutions and state-owned and -controlled corporations.

Issue date of the bonds is on March 3.

The five-year bond pays a coupon of 6.0 percent and the 10-year paper 7.375 percent, with quarterly interest payments.

The Philippines, relies heavily on local and foreign borrowings to fund its budget deficit, which is expected to reach 290 billion pesos, or 3.2 percent of GDP this year from an estimated 310 billion pesos, or 3.6 percent of GDP, last year.

For 2011, Manila is targeting gross borrowing of 772.9 billion pesos, of which 73 percent, or 563.3 billion pesos, will be raised from the local bond market.

The Philippines last sold retail T-bonds in August 2010, when it raised 97 billion pesos in an issue that attracted orders almost five times the offer size.

Issue managers of the retail T-bonds were First Metro Investment Corp , state lenders Development Bank of the Philippines and Land Bank of the Philippines, BPI Capital of the Bank of the Philippine Islands , and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co.