MANILA: The Philippines, one of Asia's most-active sovereign bond issuers, said on Tuesday it has sold $3 billion worth of global bonds in a dual-tranche offering, raising extra cash for budgetary support. The Philippines aimed to raise as much as $5.5 billion from commercial debt markets this year to plug a budget deficit that covers the government's pandemic response measures, including vaccine purchases and flagship infrastructure projects.

Its offer of 10.5-year bonds raised $750 million, while the 25-year tranche raised $2.25 billion, the Department of Finance said in a statement. The 10.5-year bonds were priced at 60 basis points over the benchmark US Treasury with a coupon of 1.95%, tighter by 30 bps than the initial pricing guidance. The 25-year tranche was priced at 3.25% with a coupon of 3.20%, also 30 bps tighter than the guidance.