BTr calls on millennials to invest in retail bonds

The government wants more millennials to invest in retail treasury bonds (RTBS), according to the Bureau of Treasury.

“The number of retail investors has been increasing every year, but more work is needed for RTBs to attract not only the adult population but the millennials as well,” Sharon Almanza, deputy treasurer, said in a statement.

The statement sent by sent by BDO Unibank Inc. noted that BDO Capital & Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp., Development Bank of the Philippines, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company, and SB Capital Investment Corporation were the joint issue managers of the latest issuance of retail treasury bonds.

“We really want the investors to invest in this low-risk instrument and discourage them from investing in supposedly highreturn but very risky investment that would cause them to lose money,” said Almanza.

Debt instruments issued by the government, such as retail bonds, allows retail investors to invest a minimum of P5,000—which the government intends to use in financing priority projects.

“The sale of RTBs has been an integral part of the government’s plan to forward the country’s key economic programs but more importantly to create a stronger society,” Almanza noted.

In the recent retail treasury bond sale on June 13, the government raised P121.765 billion. The bonds carry a coupon rate of 4.875 percent and will in 2021.