Singapore is amending a law to allow the government to buy back its debt at market prices, reducing interest costs, Second Finance Minister Lim Hwee Hua said.

 

The Monetary Authority of Singapore, or MAS, currently purchases illiquid bonds from the market and holds them until they mature, Lim said in Parliament today during the reading of a bill to amend the act. It buys back the government debt to encourage investors to “concentrate” on benchmark bonds, the minister said.

 

“As premature redemption of these securities currently is not allowed, the government continues to pay interest on these securities to the MAS,” Lim said. “The practice of early redemption will provide more flexibility in the management of Singapore government securities.”

 

Singapore’s parliament in November approved the Ministry of Finance’s proposal to increase the limit for government bond borrowing by $70 billion to as much as $320 billion.