MANILA – The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) on Wednesday formally listed on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Board, the second Retail Onshore Dollar Bonds (RDB 2).
The BTr said the USD1.26 billion, 5.5-year-issued RDB 2 has a coupon rate of 5.75 percent per annum wherein final withholding tax on coupon payments will be assumed by the government.
Interest for the issuance poured throughout the auction and the public offer period, with the initial offering going six times oversubscribed from the minimum issue size of USD200 million.
The BTr awarded USD611.2 million during the rate-setting auction held on Sept. 27, while an additional aggregate amount of USD650.66 million was raised throughout the 10-day offer period.
The RDBs cater to individual investors with a minimum investment of USD200.
Investors were also given the option to invest in the RDB via Peso Clear through select online platforms.
For continued accessibility, investing in the RDB was made available via the BTr’s online order-taking platform, the Bonds.PH mobile application, the LandBank mobile banking application, and the Overseas Filipino Bank mobile banking application.
The BTr said these platforms generated a total volume of USD2.56 million from 1,126 transactions.
“The BTr continues to prioritize digitalization as a means of promoting inclusive finance. Through our myriad of web- and app-based investment channels, we are able to further our thrust of enhancing retail access to government securities. In fact, total volume was more than triple of what was raised by our digital platforms during the maiden offering of the RDB in 2021,” BTr officer in charge Sharon Almanza said.
After the Retail Treasury Bonds or RTB 29 issuance in February, the BTr was able to raise a total of PHP355.57 billion from both its retail bond offerings.
This comprises 21.5 percent of the national government’s annual domestic funding program.
The proceeds of the RDB fund the government's key expenditures as approved by the 2023 national budget. (PNA)
