Americas

Despite funding stresses in certain Latin American countries, bond markets will continue to help the region with its financing needs. For now, this eases the pressure for reform and fiscal consolidation, but issuers must eventually face up to political and social turbulence. Oliver West reports.

Primary bond markets in Latin America and CEEMEA finally took some rest this week after a busier than usual December, but bankers covering both regions expect emerging markets borrowers to be fast out of the blocks in January as EM credit looks continued to benefit from low rates.

An extraordinary year for the US corporate bond market ended on a high this week, as Jerome Powell gave a dovish statement at the end of the Federal Open Market Committee's meeting which left participants certain the Fed had the market's back.

This year proved to be one of the most dramatic on record for corporate financiers as volumes rose from the ashes of the market sell-off. David Rothnie examines some of the themes that defined the year and looks ahead to 2021.

US-listed Chinese companies have raised more than $12bn from equity investors in the past month, with iQiyi becoming the latest to simultaneously sell a convertible bond and price a follow-on offering of its American depositary shares. With valuations soaring for many of these stocks, bankers expect more issuers to jump into the market in 2021, writes Jonathan Breen.

After a torrid year, Peru’s domestic bond market is enjoying a minor resurgence this month. But with local pension funds still not offering corporate borrowers pre-crisis levels of funding, DCM bankers believe Peruvian companies may turn to international funding markets in greater numbers during 2021.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) said on Wednesday that it would mobilise $1bn of resources to support Latin American and Caribbean countries in their efforts to acquire and distribute Covid-19 vaccines, as analysts warn most of the economic benefits from vaccinations may only reach Latin America in the second half of 2021.

Chinese streaming platform iQiyi has kicked off a combined convertible bond and follow-on offering that could raise around $1.7bn.

Political volatility might finally be biting in Peru, with Fitch putting the country's rating on negative outlook.

A group of bondholders holding more than half of the Argentine province of Córdoba’s international bonds took just one day to yet again reject the issuer’s attempt to amend terms on $1.67bn of bonds. As the countdown to default begins, creditors called for discussions “rooted in the realities of the province’s financial position and outlook”.

Cellectis, the French gene-editing company, has launched a $100m US capital raising to help fund its research and development operations. The sector has had a record year for issuance in 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic has concentrated minds on global healthcare innovation.

Only a small number of holders of Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile’s (Codelco) bonds agreed to participate in the first stage of a tender offer the government-owned copper producer will finance using proceeds from a recent bond issue.