LatAm Bonds

Suriname could be running out of time to avoid default via a consent solicitation designed to grant it a debt standstill, even as bondholders praised the sovereign’s approach to discussions.

Bond buyers snapped up three debut issuers from Latin America in the space of two days this week, jumping at rare chances to add variety and — in certain cases — juicier yields to their portfolios.

Chile increased its first social bond on Thursday, returning to the Euroclearable peso market for the first time in 18 months with a deal that bankers said had higher international participation than expected.

Guatemala’s international bonds prices finally reacted this week to its failure to make a November 3 coupon payment amid a legal battle with a US energy company. But the Central American government’s public credit office says a solution is imminent and bondholders appear confident that default will be avoided.

Mexico carried out its largest ever liability management exercise this week, refinancing more than $6.6bn of dollar bonds with new longer dated debt. But deputy finance minister Gabriel Yorio says that the sovereign will remain very active in international bond markets in the short term and is likely to be back in dollars early next year.

Mexican power generator FEL Energy, which sells 70% of its capacity to state-owned electric utility CFE, priced a debut bond deal on Wednesday as investors were unshaken by noise surrounding a different Mexican credit with a long-term agreement with a government-owned entity.

Digital retailer B2W attracted a huge book on its bond market debut on Wednesday, tightening pricing to land just an 0.125% in yield terms wide of its parent company, Brazilian retail giant Lojas Americanas.

Guatemala’s head of public credit said on Wednesday that the Central American sovereign hoped to resolve in the “next two days” a dispute with Florida-based Teco Energy that has caused its fiscal agent in New York to freeze a coupon payment due at the start of this month.

Guatemala is locked in a legal fight with Florida-based Teco Energy that public credit director Rosa María Ortega said in a motion to a New York District Court endangered the Central American sovereign’s “perfect” bond repayment record.

Chile will look to sell $1.8bn-equivalent of Euroclearable, peso-denominated domestic law bonds to local and international investors on Thursday, according to the finance ministry.

Mexico will hold a virtual non-deal roadshow with Japanese investors next week, according to Gabriel Yorio, Mexico’s deputy finance minister.

Peruvian private healthcare provider Auna sold its first international bond on Tuesday, overcoming major political volatility in its home country as bankers said the limited offering of Peruvian corporate paper played in the issuer’s favour.