Americas

Laurentian Bank has wasted little time getting its newly set up covered bond programme a top rating with DBRS and is now undertaking a roadshow with plans to sell its first deal in Canadian dollars. It is also looking at subordinated issuance in local currency.

Brazilian cement maker Votorantim Cimentos’ CFO said that the company would prioritise sustainability-linked structures in its future fundraising, after it sold a domestic SLB in March that used linked the call price — rather than the coupon — to key performance indicators (KPIs).

Colombia’s sovereign bonds continue to trade wider as the government faces fierce opposition to a tax reform designed to salvage its investment grade rating. As protestors flocked to the streets on Wednesday to oppose the bill, which is being debated in Congress, the deputy finance minister said that the final version of the reform may not be as positive for government revenues as the initial version.

The pull of a big fee pool and global reallocation of capital and resources are prompting banks to rethink the way they serve clients in the technology sector on both sides of the Atlantic, writes David Rothnie.

The world’s largest wheel manufacturer, Iochpe-Maxion, on Tuesday became the fourth Latin American issuer in four business days to issue a sustainability-linked bond (SLB). The Brazilian issuer sold a $400m seven year deal with an apparently more ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reduction target than the one set by Mexican car parts supplier Metalsa on its own SLB last week.

Oil and gas producer Pan American Energy sold $300m of six year bonds on Tuesday in the first international new issue from an Argentine borrower since July 2019, surprising some market participants who had been sceptical about its chances.

Chinese companies have raised equity in the US at a record pace this year. The deal flow has quashed fears that a hostile White House would dissuade China’s hordes of technology startups from listing on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.

Senator Marco Rubio is the latest Republican in the US to launch an attack on what conservative voices have recently dubbed “woke capital,” apparently putting the GOP at odds with an investment world that has embraced ESG.

AES Dominicana, the Dominican power generation company that is 85% owned by AES Corp, began investor calls on Monday ahead of a proposed $300m bond that will mostly be used to fund a tender offer for bonds maturing in 2026.

Brazilian cosmetics group Natura sold a sustainability-linked bond (SLB) on Monday offering an exceptionally high coupon step-up of 65bp if it does not meet sustainability targets. Though the greater increase was to compensate for the shorter time between the potential step-up and maturity than on most SLBs, it succeeded in grabbing the attention of EM bond buyers.

South Africa's Investec has launched a proprietary secondary loan trading desk in New York, having recruited a senior trader to lead it.

After Mexican conglomerate Femsa became the first issuer from the Americas to sell a sustainability-linked bond (SLB) in euros last week, Latin America bond origination bankers say they expect the region’s companies to continue to embrace the format.