Latin America

It is tale of the haves and have nots in EM this week as Argentina’s surprise 100 year bond received a $10bn book but Nigeria’s diaspora bond underwhelmed and prompted a widening of the sub-Saharan African sector.

LatAm DCM bankers say they are expecting Mexican issuers CFE and Banorte to issue soon on the back of rating agency reports published late on Tuesday.

As the Mexican peso hovers around its strongest level since before Donald Trump won the US election last November, Grupo Kuo has announced fixed income investor meetings as it looks to refinance existing debt.

Amid light-hearted comments from observers about its patchy debt record, Argentina sent a very serious message to markets on Monday with the first ever 100 year bond issuance from a single-B rated sovereign.

Mexican oil giant Pemex has met bond investors in New York as it prepares a possible bond issue later in the week.

Even after weeks of political crisis, protests across the country, the government’s desperate scrambling for cash and a default on a loan from Russia, Venezuelan bond prices remain principally driven by oil prices.

Bond investors in Latin America are short of ideas as to what could provoke a sell-off that they see as necessary to release steam as borrowers make hay in highly attractive conditions.

Lat Am DCM bankers said that Uruguay had done a fine job of convincing investors to buy into its inflation-busting story after the sovereign issued its first ever nominal global peso-denominated bond.

Latin America’s best rated sovereign Chile will follow up this week’s euro and dollar bond issues with a local market trade targeted at international investors as it looks to build out its peso-denominated curve.

Meatpacker Minerva sold the first Brazilian cross-border bond since renewed corruption allegations against Brazilian president Michel Temer shook the market last month, tapping its 2026s for a further $350m.

Panama severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan this week in favour of supporting China, leaving syndicated loans bankers in Taiwan divided about how the move will affect their business, as several Panamanian institutions have tapped Taiwanese bank liquidity for funds in the past. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.

Latin America’s best rated sovereign, Chile, has bought back $293m of its existing 2042s after receiving a strong response to the tender offer launched in conjunction with Tuesday’s dual tranche bond offering.