"The launch of the MTS Portugal Treasury Bill Segment will lead to greater transparency and liquidity, building the market for our Treasury Bills, which will in turn broaden and diversify the investor base for Portuguese government securities," said Lucia Leitão, Head of the Debt Management Department of IGCP and Chairman of MTS Portugal. "We are pleased that market participants will have access to the efficiencies the MTS Portugal Market provides for not only our bonds, but for bills as well."
Grey market trading of the 23 July 2004 Treasury bill (BT), to be auctioned by the IGCP Wednesday, commenced today. Additional bills will be listed on the segment upon their issuance. Treasury bill auctions have already been scheduled by the IGCP for August and September. Issuance of Portuguese Treasury bills had been suspended in 1999, but has been resumed by the IGCP with the aim to develop a liquid market.
Market Makers on the segment include: ABN AMRO, Banco Espírito Santo, BCP Investimento, BNP Paribas, Caixa Geral de Depósitos, CDC IXIS, Citigroup Global Markets, Crédit Agricole Indosuez, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs International and HSBC CCF. These banks have been recognized as Treasury Bill Specialists by the IGCP and are required to promote secondary market liquidity as well as to ensure wide distribution of new issues. Market Dealers for the segment include: Banco BPI, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch.
The MTS Group leads in the electronic trading of European Treasury bills with additional markets in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and The Netherlands. Through the broad reach of the MTS network, access to these markets is made available to both domestic and international market participants, broadening the investor base for Treasury bills.
