Latin America

Sustainable bond issuance has made its strongest start to the year ever, thrusting the market towards what most observers believe will be a year when many records will be broken — especially in north and south America, where environmental and social consciousness is rising. Jon Hay, Mike Turner and Oliver West report.

GlobalCapital is delighted to announce the nominees for this year’s Americas Derivatives Awards.

Colombian state-owned oil and gas company Ecopetrol said it would issue new debt and equity to fund a proposed takeover of the government’s 51.41% stake in conglomerate ISA (Interconexión Eléctria), should the finance ministry accept its offer.

Latin American development bank CAF (Corporación Andina de Fomento) will pick either a five or seven-year maturity this week as it prepares its first benchmark in euros since May 2020.

Argentine oil and gas company YPF’s bonds rallied on Tuesday as markets acknowledged several improvements to terms on the company’s attempt to exchange all of its $6.228bn international bonds for new notes. But analysts were still undecided as to whether the amended offer would be enough for YPF to meet the necessary acceptance thresholds.

Mexican financing and leasing company Unifin Financiera returned to bond markets on Monday for the first time in 18 months, garnering sufficient demand to push the yield on its new $400m eight year into single digits.

Car rental company Movida is looking to become the third Brazilian company this year to issue sustainability-linked bonds (SLB), just two weeks after its parent company issued a similar instrument.

Brazilian waterway logistics services provider Hidrovias do Brasil will begin investor calls on Thursday as it looks to sell new bonds to finance a tender offer launched last week for existing bonds.

Credit Suisse has tapped a rival bank to fill a spot on its emerging markets syndicate desk in New York, GlobalCapital understands.

Three of the most active banks in financing oil exports from the Ecuadorian Amazon — an environmentally destructive industry with a long track record of trampling on indigenous people’s rights — have agreed to cease important parts of their financial support, after pressure from NGOs and a devastating oil spill in 2020.

Guatemala’s largest lender, Banco Industrial, returned to international bond markets on Friday after more than eight years away with a tier two deal that was more than three times oversubscribed.

Bond bankers said that Brazilian agribusiness company André Maggi (Amaggi) was the ideal credit for the market’s current tastes as the borrower notched a hefty oversubscription and tightening for a debut sustainability bond on Thursday. A tier two deal from Brazilian lender Banrisul confirmed that high yield appetite in Lat Am remained robust.