Americas

Mexico’s largest airline, Aeromexico, achieved significant price tightening on a five year issue as Lat Am bond buyers said the rare luxury of a 7% handle in primary had piqued their interest, despite acknowledging credit challenges.

The Province of Buenos Aires has given itself an extra working day to track down bondholders and persuade them to accept a delay in an amortisation payment as it seeks to avoid a hard default on its debt.

Latin American bond markets reached record levels of January issuance this week as primary activity ticked over despite the scare about the coronavirus, which the World Health Organisation declared a global emergency on Thursday.

The concessionaire on a 50km toll road in Kingston, Jamaica will begin meeting fixed income investors on Friday ahead of an international bond deal, as bankers say rarer issuers are likely to dominate supply for the foreseeable future.

Buenos Aires Province has offered more incentives to bondholders to encourage them to accept a three-month delay of a small debt payment. The move makes the Argentine sovereign’s aim to restructure all its external debt by March 31 as ambitious.

As financial markets fretted over the spread of a coronavirus outbreak in China this week, one security was in the firing line more directly than any other. Holders of the World Bank’s pandemic bond will lose principal if the disease spreads by a sufficient amount, writes Jasper Cox.

The dollar corporate bond market will face its first big test of 2020 when blue-chip borrowers emerge from earnings blackouts to take centre stage in February.

Vereker goes to JP Morgan — SG picks new CEEMEA DCM head — Goldman names new cross markets head

Jes Staley’s strategy has been vindicated, with Barclays’s corporate finance bankers having a banner year. But it has to invest in its European franchise to cement its credentials as the region’s leading investment bank, says David Rothnie.

DBV Technologies, the French biopharmaceuticals company that specialises in treating allergies, has successfully completed a $153m growth capital raise, despite market volatility earlier in the week owing to fears over the spread of corona virus in Asia.

Mexican non-bank lender AlphaCredit became the latest company from Latin America to schedule fixed income investor meetings as bankers say smaller, high yield issuers are likely to dominate forthcoming supply.

Mexican state-owned oil company Pemex will prepay just $62m of two bonds maturing later this year after receiving a tepid response to its tender offer.