PH to issue $1-billion ‘Samurai’ bonds this year
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III confirmed that the Philippines is planning to issue about $1 billion-worth of “Samurai” bonds this year following its two successful floats of dollar- and renminbi-denominated notes in the offshore markets.
Buoyed by the tight spreads of the Philippines’ earlier bond issuances this year, Dominguez said such developments “indicate confidence in the fiscal and debt management of the Duterte administration.”
In showcasing the Philippines’ vibrant economic prospects, Dominguez recalled that when the government issued $2 billion-worth of 10-year dollar denominated bonds in January, its spread was 37.8 basis points (bps) over the US Treasuries.
The Philippines’ maiden “Panda” bond float of 1.46 billion renminbi in March, on the other hand, had an even tighter spread of only 35 bps over the benchmark, the finance chief cited.
“This year, we are also planning to issue around one billion US dollars worth of ‘Samurai’ bonds,” Dominguez told Japanese businessmen during his opening remarks at the Philippine Economic Briefing (PEB) held at the Imperial Hotel here.
The finance chief gave no other details of the planned yen-denominated bond float in his speech, but he has said earlier that the government will proceed with it by September or October this year.
National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon also quoted the same amount of “about $1 billion” in an earlier interview with reporters.
This year’s PEB, which showcases the Philippines’ economic resilience amid its goal of spurring infrastructure development to achieve inclusive growth, is the second held in this Japanese capital since last year.
In his remarks, Dominguez said bilateral relations between the Philippines and Japan have emerged “closer and stronger” these past few years as the former rises to join the elite group of Asia’s tiger economies, fueled by its long-term goal to achieve zero poverty rates about two decades from now.
To date, Japan has been the Philippines’ major source of official development assistance (ODA) a reliable ally in terms of infrastructure support from the period of reconstruction, one of its top trading partners, and its fourth largest source of foreign tourists, Dominguez said.
He thanked Japan and its people for their continuing support to the Philippines’ economic emergence as well as its support for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the devastated city of Marawi in Mindanao.
Dominguez, meanwhile, assured the Japanese business community that the government on the watch of President Duterte will continue to further open the economy to investors and “improve the ease of doing business, respect the sanctity of contracts, and promote a more conducive climate for investments.” (CSL)