Latin America

The International Monetary Fund maintained that relations with the Argentine government were “constructive” after a staff mission met economy minister Martín Guzmán on Friday afternoon.

Argentina appeared to adopt a firmer posture on debt restructuring negotiations this week, as it postponed repaying a domestic bond held mostly by foreigners. Economy minister Martín Guzmán told the country's Congress that he would “not let foreign investors set the tone for macroeconomic policy”.

The final Latin American corporate deal before a hiatus for the earnings blackout period showed that borrowers were benefiting from volatility related to Covid-19, the official name of the coronavirus outbreak. However, a prolonged scare could bring negative consequences.

Argentina's plans to restructure $67bn of debt in under two months may look naive to some but the ambition the government has so far demonstrated point towards a good outcome.

Though Latin America bond markets have so far dodged the brunt of global volatility related to Covid-19, the official name of the coronavirus outbreak, the region’s commodity dependence makes it particularly vulnerable to a China slowdown, say analysts.

Argentina’s economy ministry argued that it was acting with “simple” logic after deciding to include a domestic law dual currency bond owned mostly by foreigners in its external debt restructuring on Tuesday afternoon.

Argentina's plans to restructure $67bn of debt in under two month may look naive to some but the ambition and good communication the government has so far demonstrated point towards a good outcome.

Mexico’s second largest lender Banco Mercantil del Norte (Banorte) returned to the Swiss franc market for the fourth time in under two years on Monday.

Brazilian hospital operator Rede D’Or became the third Latin American company in a week to tap recently issued bonds as the region’s fixed income markets continue to defy coronavirus-related volatility elsewhere.

The Inter-American Development Bank has sold its first Indonesian rupiah sustainable development bond, making it the seventh currency in which it has raised this kind of funding.

Mexican conglomerate Fomento Económico Mexicano (Femsa) on Friday tapped its 2050s, first issued nearly a month ago, to demonstrate how a softening of global risk appetite since then, combined with a strong technical picture in EM, is making markets attractive to both buyers and issuers.

TransJamaican Highway Limited (TJH), a toll road concessionaire that connects Kingston, Jamaica to its western suburbs, sold $225m of project bonds on Friday ahead of a proposed initial public offering by the government of up to 80% of the company.