Latin America

Oil and gas producer Pan American Energy sold $300m of six year bonds on Tuesday in the first international new issue from an Argentine borrower since July 2019, surprising some market participants who had been sceptical about its chances.

AES Dominicana, the Dominican power generation company that is 85% owned by AES Corp, began investor calls on Monday ahead of a proposed $300m bond that will mostly be used to fund a tender offer for bonds maturing in 2026.

Brazilian cosmetics group Natura sold a sustainability-linked bond (SLB) on Monday offering an exceptionally high coupon step-up of 65bp if it does not meet sustainability targets. Though the greater increase was to compensate for the shorter time between the potential step-up and maturity than on most SLBs, it succeeded in grabbing the attention of EM bond buyers.

After Mexican conglomerate Femsa became the first issuer from the Americas to sell a sustainability-linked bond (SLB) in euros last week, Latin America bond origination bankers say they expect the region’s companies to continue to embrace the format.

Puerta de Hierro, a toll road project in Colombia’s Caribbean region, has tapped a combination of Colombian, Latin American and international investors to sell a Colombian peso inflation-linked social bond amid a wave of ESG-related issuance in Latin America.

Chilean miner CAP and Mexican car parts supplier Metalsa on Thursday became the latest in a string of Latin American companies to price dollar bonds not only at the tight end of guidance, but inside the indicated range, as bankers say investors are being coy with bookrunners about their pricing expectations.

Emerging markets bond buyers and issuers are regaining confidence as US Treasury volatility falls, with issuance in CEEMEA and Latin America having picked up in recent days and a pipeline building.

The Mexican conglomerate Fomento Económico Mexicano (Femsa) was in the market for sustainability-linked bond in euros on Thursday, marking the latest in a string of innovative trades from the Latin America.

Bonds issued by Mexican payroll lender AlphaCredit lost around half their value on Wednesday after the company revealed a correction in its accounting of derivatives positions would lead to an impairment charge of Ps4.1bn ($206m). Investors and analysts said this would take the non-bank lender’s equity into negative territory, suggesting default was a growing inevitability.

Brazilian cosmetics group Natura on Wednesday became the third Latin America company this week to announce plans to issue sustainability-linked bonds, joining Mexicans Femsa and Metalsa in the pipeline.

Latin American oil and gas company GeoPark priced a reopening of its 2027 bonds with a negative new issue concession on Tuesday, taking advantage of strong demand from holders of its old notes to raise $150m.

As Colombia’s government gears up for a political battle to push through a tax reform that may save its investment grade status, the sovereign’s head of public credit told GlobalCapital that the market reception of a dual tranche bond issue on Monday represented a vote of confidence from international investors.