Central America

International bonds issued by El Salvador and Costa Rica are proving to be a sweet spot for EM investors, with the notes extending their rally this week as both countries look closer than ever to signing IMF programmes. But there are risks to the positive credit narratives driving the performance of both sovereigns, analysts warned.

El Salvador’s bonds retained recent gains on Thursday as EM’s riskiest credits proved resilient to the week’s US Treasury sell-off, with bondholders hoping that Sunday’s mid-term elections will give president Nayib Bukele the political capital he requires to implement an IMF programme.

Mexican broadcaster TV Azteca, which missed a coupon payment on its international bond earlier this month amid plans for a 'debt reorganisation', surprised analysts by posting strong fourth quarter results this week.

América Móvil, the Mexican telecommunications company controlled by Carlos Slim, had to cheapen the terms of its €2.2bn bond exchangeable into shares in Dutch telco KPN, but still achieved a remarkably cheap refinancing of a non-core stake.

Petrochemicals producer Alpek, which is owned by major Mexican conglomerate Grupo Alfa, will buy back almost half of its $650m of 4.5% 2022s after wrapping a tender offer on Tuesday.

Better than expected fiscal data from Mexico has led Bank of America analysts to conclude that the country’s fiscal metrics “could compare favourably to peers for longer” and upgrade their recommendation on the sovereign’s external debt from underweight to market weight.

Mexico petrochemical company Alpek could announce a new 10 year note as soon as Thursday, and investors expect the issuer to receive strong demand amid a quiet Latin America primary market.

Mexican petrochemicals producer Alpek, which lost one of its investment grade ratings for the first time last September, was holding calls with fixed income investors this week ahead of a proposed liability management exercise that would push its average debt maturity from 4.4 years to seven years.

Mexican broadcaster TV Azteca’s bonds fell sharply in secondary markets this week after the company missed a coupon payment on its international bonds. But the decision to stay current on, and prepay, a domestic bond left some bondholders recalling previous battles with Ricardo Salinas Pliego, Mexico’s third richest man and the owner of the broadcaster.

TV Azteca, the broadcaster owned by Mexico’s third richest man Ricardo Salinas Pliego, missed a coupon payment on a $400m bond on Tuesday, leaving some concerned about the implications for other Grupo Salinas-controlled bond issuers.

A highly diversified order book allowed the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (Cabei) to tighten pricing on its first ever benchmark social bond on Wednesday, with the multilateral lender raising $500m of five-year money.

Mexican quasi-sovereign Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) offered little to no concession on its first 144A/Reg S deal since 2016 on Tuesday, attracting a broad range of investors to an order book that peaked above $10bn.