Citizens Savings Bond and Foreign Employment Saving Bond issued

KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 26: The Public Debt Management Office has issued Citizens Savings Bonds worth Rs 3 billion and Foreign Employment Savings Bonds worth Rs 500 million. The announcement was made through a public notice today.

Both bonds have a tenure of five years, with an interest rate of 7% for the Citizens Bond and 8.5% for the Foreign Employment Bond.

The bonds will be available for purchase from February 27 to March 28. However, the sale may close earlier if applications reach the total issuance amount before the deadline.

Interest payments will be deposited directly into the purchaser’s bank account every six months, and the interest income will be subject to taxation. The minimum purchase amount is Rs 10,000, while the maximum is the total issue amount. Purchases must be made in multiples of Rs 10,000, with any remaining amount rounded off. The first applicant will have priority for the first purchase.

Due to low public awareness of the benefits of the Foreign Employment Savings Bond, demand has remained weak. For the bond issued on November 27, 2024, the office received applications for only about 12% of the available bonds.

The interest rates on these government savings instruments are 2 to 2.5% higher than those currently offered by banks and financial institutions for fixed deposits.