Govt raises P879m from capital market

The government's agent in the capital markets, Bank of Botswana floated three and six month Treasury Bills valued at P680 million and a 15-year bond valued at P200 million with an eight percent coupon. According to auction results published yesterday, of the 52 bids received for the two T-Bills, only 34 were successful. For the three-month bill, the Bank of Botswana (BoB) fixed the stop out yield at 5.38 percent, meaning all bids above this were rejected.

The stop out yield on the three month T-Bill has been rising since it debuted last September, increasing from 5.04 percent to 5.14 percent in December and 5.38 percent last Friday. The rising yields support the data showing lower bidding pressure and point to higher borrowing costs for government.The BoB affixed a 5.01 percent stop out yield on the six-month bill declining from the 5.06 percent it was pegged at, at its last auction in September. Bids for the six-month note ranged between 4.55 and six percent.