Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez led the ceremonial ringing of the bell on Friday (October 8) to mark the maiden issuance of the Retail Dollar Bonds and its subsequent trading through the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corporation (PDEx) platform.
Secretary Dominguez was joined by Mr. Ramon S. Monzon, President and CEO of Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp. (PDS); Mr. Antonino A. Nakpil, PCEO of PDEX; Ms. Ma. Theresa B. Ravalo, PCEO of the Philippine Depository & Trust Corp. (PDTC); Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon; Monetary Board Member Felipe M. Medalla; Ms. Cecilia C. Borromeo, PCEO of the Landbank of the Philippines (LBP); and Mr. Emmanuel G. Herbosa, PCEO of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
On October 1, the Bureau of the Treasury closed its RDB offering for a total of USD 1.59 billion, almost four times the initial target of USD 400 million. Secretary Dominguez said that the RDBs’ “groundbreaking success” is a “testament to our local and overseas investors’ trust and confidence in the solid fundamentals of the Philippine economy and the Duterte administration’s fiscal prudence.” The RDB issuance and other earlier retail bond offerings, made possible through the use of digital platforms, also help improve financial literacy among Filipinos.