Government raised P822 million in borrowings from the local capital market recently, via the offer of a treasury bill and three bonds in an auction held on March 1, 2019.
Government borrows quarterly from the local capital market to fund the national budget and also develop the market’s capacity.
On March 1, an amount of P350 million was offered under the six-month treasury bill, with total bids amounting to P548 million and the offer fully allotted. The three bonds, all existing papers which were being reopened, offered P500 million, P150 million and P100 million.
The three bonds garnered bids of P595 million, P228 million and P140 million respectively. Of these bids, the bonds allotted P335 million and P137 million respectively, while the P100 million bond did not secure qualifying bids and was unallotted.
Each quarter, the Bank of Botswana auctions bonds and treasury bills on behalf of government under the P15 billion note issuance programme, which dates back to February 2011. The auctions are limited to commercial banks, who hold exclusive bidding rights. Investors and issuers use the yields at the auctions to set the standard for returns in the capital market.
