The government is set to sell NT$185 billion (US$6.07 billion) in treasury bonds in the first quarter of next year, with NT$110 billion tagged for debt repayment and the remaining NT$75 billion for special budgets, particularly infrastructure construction, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said in a statement posted on its Web site on Thursday.
The first-quarter sale of NT$185 billion bonds is 23.33 percent higher than the NT$150 billion bonds sold in the current quarter but 2.63 percent less than the NT$190 billion sold in the first quarter of this year.
Apart from the regular five-year, 10-year, 20-year and 30-year bonds to be issued in each quarter next year, the ministry said it planned to also issue two year bonds in February to meet market demand.
The ministry did not specify the total worth of bonds to be issued next year, saying only that there will be 17 bond issues overall, the statement said.
This year, the government has issued NT$610 billion in treasury bonds to fund the state treasury and cope with special budget needs.
That was up from the NT$580 billion it originally planned before its announcement on Dec. 7 of an extra NT$30 billion in 30-year bonds issued on Dec. 23 to finance infrastructure and the NT$470 billion in treasury bonds last year, the ministry’s tallies showed.
The government faces a NT$159 billion deficit next year following a revised NT$167 billion deficit this year, the -Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said on Aug. 19.
The ministry’s statement indicated that in the first quarter the government plans to issue NT$40 billion in five-year bonds on Jan. 5, NT$35 billion in 20-year bonds on Jan. 13, NT$40 billion in two-year bonds on Feb. 14, NT$30 billion in 30-year bonds on Feb. 22 and NT$40 billion in 10-year bonds on March 17.
Apart from the bond issues, the ministry also plans to sell NT$70 billion in treasury bills in the first quarter to help state coffers meet short-term capital needs and repay debt, the statement showed.
This year, the government has issued NT$335 billion in treasury bills, 23 percent less than the NT$435 billion sold a year earlier.
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