Americas

Equity markets awoke on Wednesday morning to an inconclusive US presidential election where there is no clear winner between US president Donald Trump and his challenger, former vice president Joe Biden. Equity capital markets are likely to remain shut for at least the next few days as they wait to find out who has won especially as vitriol between the candidates increases.

Argentine power company Gennaia is at risk of defaulting on its domestic dollar bonds as a result of capital controls issued by the Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA), Fitch said on Tuesday as it slashed the rating on the issuer’s international notes.

Ozon, the Russian e-commerce company, has filed its initial paperwork for a US listing that could be squeezed in before the end of the year.

New Oriental Education & Technology Group is set to raise HK$10.1bn ($1.3bn) as it guides investors toward final pricing for its secondary offering in Hong Kong.

Bond markets in Latin America were quiet on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s US election. But the Mexican peso, and bonds issued by state-owned oil giant Pemex, could be most vulnerable to a surprise or uncertain result given they are two of the most liquid assets in EM.

As the Argentine Province of Buenos Aires approaches six months in default, a creditor group holding nearly half of the issuer’s international bonds has hired a major international law firm and says it is “prepared to evaluate all available options”.

A group of real money investors owning a “significant portion” of Suriname’s international bonds are forming a creditor group to negotiate with the country, as a new government prepares to restructure its debt.

Ping An Insurance-backed Lufax Holdings is expected to price its American depositary shares at the top of guidance, following a large turnout from global heavyweight investors for its IPO.

Outrage at the destruction of the Amazon rainforest — which often involves dispossessing indigenous people — is common among capital markets executives. But few realise that their own firms are financing it.

Total Play Telecomunicaciones’ failure to appear in primary markets this week was less surprising to bond bankers than the fact that the Mexican telco had planned to sell a debut deal the week before the US elections, as equity volatility in that country made for a weaker tone in Latin American credit markets.

Boeing faced down turbulence on Thursday with a $4.9bn bond issue, after markets reacted to a spike in Covid-19 cases days ahead of the US presidential election.

Chile, the only Latin American sovereign to have issued a green bond, is weighing up different thematic bonds as it makes its funding plans for 2021.