Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation chief economist Michael Ricafort (File photo)
MANILA – An economist said further utilization of digital channels is expected to help boost the government's reach vis-a-vis its retail debt issuance.
In a reply to e-mailed questions from the Philippines News Agency, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort said roadshows, now done virtually because of the pandemic, to promote the government's fund-raising activities are a win-win move both for the government and the public.
"This forms part of the further development of the country's capital markets that further democratizes the distribution of government securities within the reach of the masses/investing public at a minimum investment of PHP5,000 with much higher yield while having among the safest securities issued by the national government and highly marketable/tradable at the same time, thereby also effectively tapping more of the excess/surplus funds from the general public," he said.
For one, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) is scheduled to auction on Tuesday another batch of retail treasury bond (RTB).
RTB is among the government's retail securities intended for small investors since minimum placement is PHP5,000.
The government has been encouraging the public to invest in government-issued debt securities not only to secure their funds for the future but also to be part of the economic recovery.
Even with the pandemic, the government remained active in promoting its debt securities issuance through the conduct of virtual roadshows that has greater reach among Filipinos overseas.
Ricafort noted that availment by more Filipinos to government-issued bonds will boost the state's capacity to finance programs targeted to address the impact of the pandemic.
He said the virtual roadshows provided a venue for more people to understand the "important social function of investing in RTBs to support the governments' various Covid-19 programs."
Gains from fund-raising activities will be very beneficial "for overall economic development and nation-building, thereby further increasing the appeal of investing in RTBs and other government securities," he said.
"Further increasing the awareness of the general public would be key especially through social media and other forms of advertisements/announcements, as well as ensuring greater ease of transacting RTBs and other government securities through harnessing further digital/online banking channels would be among the key improvements over the past 5 years," he said.
This move is "similar to the digital platform/infrastructure adopted during the Retail Dollar Bond (RDB) offering more than a month ago, thereby making the fund-raising and distribution processes faster and more efficient, in response to the changing business environment and the demand/requirements of the investing public," he added. (PNA)
