PH T-bill rates down Tuesday

MANILA – The rates of Philippine Treasury bills (T-bills) declined Tuesday but this did not surprise Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) officials, given the recent cut in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) key policy rates.

The average rate of the benchmark 91-day paper slipped to 5.389 percent, the 182-day to 5.768 percent and the 364-day to 5.936 percent.

These were at 5.438 percent, 5.825 percent and 5.977 percent for the three-month, six-month and one-year paper, respectively, during the auction last May 6.

“Rates are across-the-board lower than previous, about roughly five basis points, so it was a good turnout for the BTr,” Deputy Treasurer Erwin Sta. Ana told journalists after the auction.

BTr offered the shortest tenor paper for PHP4 billion and the auction committee made a full award due to high demand, which reached PHP19.85 billion.

The six-month paper was also fully awarded at PHP5 billion after tenders reached PHP15.788 billion.

Tenders for the one-year paper amounted to PHP19.01 billion, more than three times the PHP6 billion offer. This was also fully awarded.

Meanwhile, Sta. Ana said they are set to settle the 750 million eight-year Euro bond the Philippine government issued last May 10.

The issuance, made more than a decade after the government’s previous Euro bond, fetched a coupon rate of 0.875 percent and yield of 70 basis points over benchmark.

Sta. Ana, on the other hand, said they are closely watching current market conditions for the country’s second renminbi-denominated Panda bond issuance possibly this week.

He said they already have all the necessary approvals for the planned 2.5 billion renminbi issuance.

He, however, declined to give specifics on the tenor.

“We may go ahead this week if there’s an opportunity but we are still looking at the markets at this time. There’s really no pressure for us to launch but rather we are looking for that sweet spot,” he added.