Fresh P5-billion small bond offer slated next year.

To give small investors access to government securities, the National Government will sell some P5 billion worth of seven-year small-denominated Treasury (SDT) bonds early next year.

"We want to empower the small savers and democratize access to government securities," National Treasurer Leonor M. Briones said yesterday.

The seven-year SDTs, offered in denominations as low as P5,000, would carry yields equivalent to the rate of the seven-year T-bond at the time of the sale. The issuance is in line with the government's shifts to long-term borrowings to ease the burden of immediate payments.

Investors can buy the bonds in January through government …