Government bonds or treasuries are government debt securities that pay a fixed interest. These government treasuries are widely regarded as the most frequently-traded securities in the world and the benchmarks of risk-free return, playing a critical role in the global economy.

• U.S. Treasury securities are issued by the U.S. government.

• Treasury Bills (T-Bills) are short-term Government Securities issued at a discount to their face value. Investors receive the full face value at maturity. Types of T-Bills available to trade are: US T-Bills and Singapore T-Bills.

• Singapore Government Securities (SGS) are tradable government debt securities that pay a fixed interest every 6 months.

They are typically considered low-risk investments and suitable for stable income seekers, as well as investors who are looking to diversify their portfolio.

Bond transactions usually take place in OTC market (Over-the-Counter), which discourages many investors from buying bonds due to the uncertainty of bond prices and the time-consuming process of quoting prices.

You can refer to this article on How to Buy Singapore Treasury Bills (T-Bills) on FSMOne.

The minimum investment quantity to subscribe is at S$10,000 and the incremental investment quantity is S$1,000. The cut-off time to subscribe the Singapore T-Bills is at 10:30am on Auction Date. You can place either ‘Market Order” if you would like to place a non-competitive bid or “Limit order” if you would like to make place a competitive bid. No upfront payment is required, settlement for payment on 2 business days after Auction Date. Investors can subscribe for the T-Bills at a limit yield and conveniently utilize funds from their SGD Auto-sweep Account or SGD Cash Account to fund for the subscription upon successful allocation.

Corporate accounts are welcome to apply for T-Bills too! Lastly, should you require to unwind your investments prior to the maturity date, you can conveniently trade the bonds on the secondary market without lag time.

Another benefit when you buying T-Bills from FSMOne is that you can still trade on secondary market before bond matures, it’s usually quite difficult at the banks.

As this is a zero coupon, T-Bills issued at a discount from its face value, investors will receive the face value of the bond upon maturity. For example, if an investor subscribes S$10,000 nominal value of the T-Bills and the issue price is at 98.00, it will be issued at a discounted value of S$9,800. At the end of 6 months, on its maturity date, investor will receive S$10,000. The $200 extra reflects the overall return on this investment.

Click to view the MAS Auction and Issuance Calendar for T-Bills. Subscription is available on our platform the next business day after Announcement Date. Cut-off time to place the order is at 10.30am on Auction Date.

The minimum investment nominal for US Treasuries & UK Gilts are US$1,000 and GBP 1,000 respectively. However, if transaction value is less than S$200,000 (or its equivalent in a foreign currency), one must be an Accredited Investor (“AI”) before they can transact in these bonds. Declare as an AI here today!

For non US Citizen or US Resident Government bonds coupons and investment gains are not taxable if proper FATCA declarations are provided.

Information can be downloaded from: MAS Statistics page

Allocation on Singapore T-Bill will be on solely on iFAST discretion and allocation result is final. Any related fees will be charged upon allocation. Please refer to our “Pricing Structure” for more information.

Currently, trading of Singapore T-Bills in the primary and secondary market will be solely on cash.

You will have to transfer your Singapore T-Bills to FSMOne before you are able to sell.