Philippines raises $2.5 billion from global bonds

MANILA, Philippines —  The Philippines has raised $2.5 billion from a triple-tranche sale of dollar-denominated global bonds that drew strong investor demand, marking its second foray in the international debt market this year. aIn a statement, the Bureau of the Treasury said it sold $550 million in 5.5-year global bonds, $1.65 billion in 10-year bonds and a $300-million tap issue of global bonds due in 2051.

The offering drew robust international investor interest as it was oversubscribed by 4.4 times, allowing the government to upsize the transaction to $2.5 billion from an initial $2 billion.

Finance Secretary Frederick Go said the country’s second international bond offering this year continues to be met with a positive reception from global investors.

“The strong demand signifies strong confidence in the Philippines’ economic resilience and foundational stability, even amid prevailing challenging market conditions and short-lived execution windows,” Go said.

National Treasurer Sharon Almanza added that the issuance capitalized on “favorable market conditions” to re-enter the international capital markets.

“Our aim is to harness this market momentum in order to secure the most efficient cost dynamics in anticipation of potential future market uncertainties. We continue to value the outstanding global support of the bond investor community through our journey,” Almanza said.

At the start of the offering, the government set initial price guidance at around 85 basis points over US Treasuries for the 5.5-year bonds, 125 basis points over US Treasuries for the 10-year bonds and 6.1 percent for the additional issuance of the 2051 dollar bonds.

Final pricing tightened by 25 to 32.5 basis points from initial guidance across all three tranches, indicating strong investor demand for the offering.

The 5.5-year bonds were priced at a reoffer yield of 4.699 percent, or 55 basis points above comparable US Treasuries. The 10-year bonds fetched a reoffer yield of 5.355 percent, or 92.5 basis points over US Treasuries, while the reopened 2051 bonds were priced at 5.85 percent.

All three tranches were priced with minimal to negative new issue premiums and will settle on June 24, the BTr said.

The Treasury said the success of the offering demonstrated the government’s ability to efficiently capture conducive market windows, marking the strength of the Philippines credit, robust global market access and investor confidence in the country’s economic outlook and development.

The bonds were rated Baa2 by Moody’s Ratings, BBB+ by S&P Global Ratings and BBB by Fitch Ratings, in line with the sovereign’s ratings.

The government is looking to use the sale proceeds for general budget financing.

BNP Paribas, Citigroup, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, MUFG and Standard Chartered Bank are joint lead managers and bookrunners.

Last January, the Philippines’ first foray in the global debt market for 2026 involved the triple-tranche issuance of $2.75 billion, a dual-currency issuance of $2.25 billion and €1 billion in January 2025 and a $2.5-billion triple-tranche offering in August 2024.