Financial Literacy Talk on Gov’t Bonds a Hit Among Filipinos in HK
Consul General to Hong Kong Antonio A. Morales delivers welcome remarks at the Financial Literacy Seminar on Retail Treasury Bonds (RTBs), held on 24 February 2019 at the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong. (Hong Kong PCG photo)
HONG KONG 05 March 2019 – A full-house audience of 95 members of the Filipino Community attended the Financial Literacy Seminar conducted by a team of high-level executives from government financial institutions who flew in from Manila to discuss savings and investment instruments in the form of retail treasury bonds (RTBs) on 24 February 2019 at the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong.
“As head of the Philippine Consulate General, one of my priority initiatives is to provide capacity building programs for Filipinos in the Territory, especially for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs),” highlighted Consul General Antonio A. Morales during his welcome remarks.
“With close to 230,000 Filipinos in Hong Kong, more than 211,000 or 92 percent of whom are household service workers, knowledge of managing finances is of utmost importance, given that many Filipinos in Hong Kong are their families’ breadwinners,” Consul General Morales said.
The Consul General also noted that financial literacy is equally important to prepare OFWs for their eventual return to the Philippines to be with their families and loved ones, and expressed hope that the knowledge gained in the seminar will be the start of a more financially-rewarding future for the attendees.
The seminar was keynoted by Deputy Treasurer Erwin D. Sta. Ana from the Philippine Bureau of Treasury, who underscored the role of overseas Filipinos as drivers of the Philippine economy and prosperity, with combined remittances amounted to US$32 billion in 2018—representing 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.
Deputy Treasurer Sta. Ana further encouraged OFWs to participate in nation-building as part of President Rodrigo Duterte’s inclusive growth strategy through the Philippine government’s first online RTBs, which will be offered from 26 February to 8 March 2019. \\
With a minimum of PhP5,000 investment, OFWs can invest in RTBs which in turn can form part of their long-term savings.
Development Bank of the Philippines First Vice President Francis Nicolas M. Chua followed up with a presentation on the various investment options, which includes RTBs. Land Bank of the Philippines First Vice President Gonzalo Benjamin A. Bongolan then explained in detail the benefits and ease of investing in RTBs.
The Financial Literacy Seminar was held under the auspices of the Consulate General’s gender and development program to implement Section 26 of Republic Act No. 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women, which provides for the right of information regarding policies on women. END
For more information, visit www.hongkongpcg.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHLinHK/.
Deputy Treasurer Erwin D. Sta. Ana of the Bureau of the Treasury of the Philippines leads the full-house Financial Literacy Seminar focusing on investment-cum-savings in the form of retail treasury bonds, held on 24 February 2019 at the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong. (Hong Kong PCG photo)
Financial Literacy Seminar speakers namely, Bureau of the Treasury of the Philippines Deputy Treasurer Erwin D. Sta. Ana (1st row, 7th from left), First Vice President of the Development Bank of the Philippines Francis Nicolas M. Chua (1st row, 6th from left), and First Vice President of Land Bank of the Philippines Gonzalo Benjamin A. Bongolan, (1st row, 8th from left), join the attendees from the Filipino Community of the Financial Literacy Seminar on Retail Treasury Bonds (RTBs) held on 24 February 2019 at the Philippine Consulate General. (Hong Kong PCG photo)