Latin America

Banco Santander Chile sold its first ESG-themed bond on Tuesday, raising $50m in a private placement with a Japanese investor to finance small and medium sized enterprises led by women.

Argentina’s sovereign bonds endured a rough ride in the past week as investors and analysts worry that the government may not be as keen as it appears to reach a new agreement with the IMF by May, its previously outlined deadline.

European asset manager Amundi is launching an open-ended fund for institutional and retail investors that will buy hard currency green bonds issued by emerging markets issuers.

Entre Ríos, the only Argentine province to have faced legal proceedings as a result of the past year’s wave of bond defaults, looks set to avoid a legal battle after reaching a restructuring agreement with the creditors that had pursued it in a US court.

Peruvian mining company Volcán said on Saturday that holders of around two thirds of its $535.264m 5.375% 2022 bond had participated in a tender offer for the issue. But the borrower will only accept 35.5% of the amount tendered, and will use the majority of the proceeds of its recent five year bond issue to pay back a bank loan also maturing next year.

Ecuador’s international bonds recovered some recent losses on Thursday after former banker Guillermo Lasso crept into second place in the vote count of last Sunday’s presidential election. Yet the first round of the election has failed to provide certainty about what economic policy making might look like under the next government.

Argentine oil and gas company YPF will avoid a hard default after the country’s central bank, the Banco Central de la República Argentina (BCRA) agreed to provide the issuer with sufficient dollars not just to complete a bond swap, but also to make a maturity payment on March 23 to creditors that did not participate in the company's recent debt exchange.

Mexican broadcaster TV Azteca’s bonds fell sharply in secondary markets this week after the company missed a coupon payment on its international bonds. But the decision to stay current on, and prepay, a domestic bond left some bondholders recalling previous battles with Ricardo Salinas Pliego, Mexico’s third richest man and the owner of the broadcaster.

TV Azteca, the broadcaster owned by Mexico’s third richest man Ricardo Salinas Pliego, missed a coupon payment on a $400m bond on Tuesday, leaving some concerned about the implications for other Grupo Salinas-controlled bond issuers.

Uruguay’s dollar bonds are hot property, but the sovereign is planning to focus its international bond issuance efforts on its domestic currency in 2021 as it looks to develop the peso market and increase the share of its debt burden in the currency.

EM bond buyers gave Guara Norte, a special purpose vehicle for Brazilian floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit Cidade de Ilhabela, a warm welcome on its first bond market outing as investors say that emerging market high yield corporates offer the best chance for outperformance.

Argentine oil and gas company YPF amended its proposed bond exchange for the fourth time on Sunday evening, again upping the cash payment for holders of its March 2021s in a move that the issuer says has the support of the most stubborn group of bondholders.