Latin America

Colombian bank GNB Sudameris held investor calls on Monday ahead of a proposed Basel III-compliant subordinated note that could be priced as soon as Tuesday. This will be GNB’s third attempt to issue in the past year.

Chilean car seller Automotores Gildemeister is seeking bondholder permission for a restructuring that would see senior secured creditors receive all the company’s equity and a combination of secured and unsecured bonds. Unsecured bondholders — who will be offered a far more meagre recovery — have hired legal advisors.

Mexico cleaned up a chunk of short-term debt maturities on Tuesday with a $3.26bn 2041 bond. The country’s deputy finance minister told GlobalCapital that the sovereign had decided to act fast to issue amid expectations that US Treasury yields will widen further.

A group of institutional investors owning international bonds issued by Suriname have agreed to grant the South American sovereign a third debt payment standstill after the issuer modified the terms of a consent solicitation.

Mexico’s deputy finance minister Gabriel Yorio told GlobalCapital on Wednesday that a block of Latin American countries was forming to ensure that the plight of middle-income economies was not forgotten as the world looks for ways to alleviate financial pressures on developing countries.

Mexico on Tuesday became the second Latin America sovereign to use the 20 year US Treasury bond as a benchmark for a new issue, initially raising $2.5bn of 2041 notes to finance a tender offer. Later in the evening, the sovereign said it would likely increase the size of the 2041s to $3.26bn, with holders of old bonds set to switch into the new notes.

Latin American oil and gas company GeoPark may return to bond markets in the near future as it looks to finance a tender offer for up to $255m of its $425m of 6.5% senior unsecured 2024s.

Automotores Gildemeister, the distributor of Hyundai cars in Chile and other South American countries, is set to file for bankruptcy with the support of its bondholders after missing a coupon payment on its $510m senior secured 7.5% 2025s on April 1. The process is set to reduce the company’s debt by $200m, said the issuer

Empresas CMPC, the Chilean pulp and paper producer, priced a sustainability-linked bond inside its curve on Wednesday, leaving no doubt that Latin American issuers can still garner a material pricing benefit from ESG debt, even as emerging market bonds feel the pressure from US Treasury volatility.

Suriname said on Wednesday that it had provided its bondholders with the data and reassurances they had requested, before extending the deadline on a consent solicitation that would grant the government additional debt relief while it negotiates an IMF deal.

Chile’s head of international finance said that the sovereign’s debut in the Formosa bond market this week was a natural continuation of the diversification of its funding sources, as Asian investors bought more than half of the government’s $1.5bn 32-year sustainable bond. The government has now issued green, social and sustainable notes in international markets.

Just over two months after it last issued internationally, Chile returned to primary markets on Tuesday with a sustainable Formosa bond. The deal was the second ever Formosa from a Latin American sovereign and comes as Chile makes efforts to diversify its funding sources.