LatAm Bonds

Petrochemicals company Unigel has set initial price thoughts of 8% for its planned seven year international bond debut. The deal may provide the best indicator yet of how market appetite for Lat Am credit was affected by February’s volatility.

Emerging market bond investors are reporting low secondary flows in a market dominated by new issues this week. And the mixed performance of those new deals is expected to weigh on investor appetite for this week’s trades.

Brazil’s largest private sector lender Banco Itaú sold $750m of additional tier one notes on Monday, just three months after its most recent issuance in the format.

The largest dairy company in Argentina is looking at calling its existing 2021s in July after filing a new debt shelf, according to market sources in Buenos Aires.

China Resources Land tapped the Panda bond market for the first time since July 2017, raising Rmb6bn ($945.6m). But few onshore investors who bought the three year bond looked at the trade as a real Panda, according to bankers on the deal.

Unigel, the Brazilian petrochemicals company, became the first Latin American corporate name to announce deal plans since early February, and bankers say this will provide a far tougher test of market sentiment than Paraguay's deal.

Land-locked sovereign Paraguay sold the first cross-border bond from a Latin American issuer in exactly a month on Thursday, but though bankers said the deal was positive for the market, they did not think the slim concession was a sign of things to come.

Paraguay wrapped up two days of investor meetings on Wednesday, and the South American sovereign will have New York bond syndicate desks wishing it the best of luck if it announces a new deal on Thursday — as expected.

Emerging market bond markets began with a softer tone on Wednesday after the resignation of Gary Cohn as Donald Trump’s economic adviser added to a more negative tone in global markets. Cohn is a supporter of free trade and opposed Trump's leanings towards protectionism.

French lender BNP Paribas has hired Deutsche Bank’s head of Mexican corporate client coverage as managing director and country head for Mexico as it prepares to obtain a banking license in the country.

Brazilian steel producer CSN will buy back $350m of existing bonds after concluding a tender offer for its 2019s and 2020s, though some investors think the company may come back with a more lucrative offer.

Unigel, the Brazilian commodity chemical producer, is planning a cross-border bond debut that would replace all of its existing debt, according to rating agency reports.