THE national government has returned to the international bond market through a three-tranche US dollar-denominated bond offering.
Moody’s Ratings, which assigned a “Baa2” rating to the bond offering, announced on Wednesday that the bonds would be issued from its existing shelf program, including tranches maturing in 2030, 2035 and 2049.
“The bonds to be issued under the shelf program will constitute direct, unconditional and unsubordinated obligations of the government of the Philippines,” Moody’s said.
It added that the bonds would have the same priority as the issuer’s existing and future senior unsecured debt obligations.
The proceeds from the bonds will be used for general purposes, including budgetary support, in which part of the tranche maturing in 2049 will also fund projects eligible under the Philippines’ Sustainable Finance Framework.
The Bureau of the Treasury has not yet disclosed the amount it plans to raise from the bond issuance.
S&P Global Ratings assigned a “‘BBB+” long-term foreign currency issue rating to the benchmark-sized senior unsecured bonds, while Fitch Ratings gave a “BBB” rating.
In May, the government successfully raised $2 billion from offshore capital markets through a dual-tranche debt securities sale.
Foreign borrowings declined by 27.02 percent to P267.41 billion in the first half of 2024, down from P366.44 billion last year.
During this period, global bonds made up the majority of foreign borrowings at P115.25 billion, with an additional P100.50 billion from program loans and P51.67 billion from project loans.
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