Americas

Government-owned lender Banco Nacional de Panamá could debut in bond markets this week after mandating for a Reg S-only guaranteed deal, GlobalCapital understands.

In this round-up, the already fraught relationship between the US and China faces fresh tests, as both countries continue announcing retaliatory measures against each other.

Latin American bond bankers say they expect new issuance to come at a calmer pace for the next few weeks, with just two Brazilian companies the only borrowers from the region to venture into primary markets this week.

Ecuador publicly took on dissenting bondholders this week, after a debt restructuring that some major institutional investors consider to be exemplary proved to be not to everyone’s liking.

BioNTech, the German biopharmaceuticals company, is selling 5.5m American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) on the Nasdaq through a share sale and a rights issue. The company, which is working with Pfizer to develop a vaccine for Covid-19, is the latest issuer to hit the market in a wave of biotech ECM issuance — but buyers are being warned against being too eager, reports Sam Kerr.

Reform of the US government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) has always been considered a necessary precursor to establishing a US covered bond legal framework. But with the Covid-19 crisis and November’s presidential elections diverting attention, dollar covered bond issuance will remain dominated by foreign banks, with near term supply prospects likely to be determined by the cross-currency basis swap.

The growth of green convertible bonds is promising and there are hopes for more issuance. However, the market has some way to go before it becomes mainstream, according to sources.

Banco BV, the banking arm of Brazilian conglomerate Votorantim, raised $500m of five year senior unsecured bonds on Wednesday in a deal well supported by retail, local and Brazilian bank buyers as well as the usual EM-dedicated institutional accounts.

Panama’s second largest bank, Banistmo, is planning a first international bond issue in nearly three years, according to rating agency reports.

A group of institutional investors owning Belize’s $526.5m of 2034 bonds said on Thursday that they would support an effort by the government to capitalise the next three coupon payments due on the bond. But some analysts say payment delays are unlikely to cure the country’s debt woes.

Ivan Tavrin, the former CEO of Russian telecoms company Megafon, is seeking to raise $250m for a special purpose acquisition company (Spac) which is likely to target a merger with a Russian company.

Singapore’s stock exchange and Nasdaq have extended a partnership for dual listings on the bourses with an agreement to co-operate on regulatory matters.