Philippines sets Q4 domestic borrowing at $3bn

29 Sep, 2014

MANILA: The Philippines plans to raise 135 billion pesos ($3 billion) through the sale of Treasury bills and bonds in the last three months of the year, the Bureau of Treasury said, up 51 percent from actual debt sales in the September quarter.

The Bureau of Treasury plans to sell 60 billion pesos worth of 91-day, 182-day and 364-day Treasury bills and 75 billion pesos of 3-, 5,- and 7-year Treasury bonds between October and December, it said in a notice to government security dealers.

The government had also planned to raise 135 billion pesos in the third quarter but only raised 89.61 billion pesos, based on Reuters calculations, after it rejected bids, partially awarded some offers and cancelled an auction of 10-yr bonds in August to give way to a local bond exchange programme.

Manila borrows from the domestic and foreign debt market to finance its budget deficit which is wants to keep at 2 percent of gross domestic product this year until 2016.

It posted a budget surplus of 29.9 billion pesos in August, bringing the eight-month shortfall to 25.9 billion pesos, just a tenth of the programmed 266 billion pesos budget deficit for 2014.

Last week, the government lifted trading restrictions on government securities by allowing the buying and selling of these instruments between and among tax exempt and taxable institutions, in line with efforts to deepen capital markets.

Copyright Reuters, 2014

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