The Philippines will adopt international pricing conventions for
peso-denominated government bonds from Jan. 4 next year, removing withholding
tax from bond pricing. Quoted yields excluding investor-specific withholding
will better reflect market fundamentals and align pricing with international
benchmarks. JPMorgan plans to include Philippine local-currency debt in its
widely followed emerging-market bond index. Authorities said the move is
expected to attract more investors and lower government funding costs, though
some investors will need to adjust settlement-value calculations under the new
convention.
