Latin America

Chilean government-owned copper producer Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (Chile) became the latest Latin American borrower to take advantage of rock-bottom bond yields to refinance existing debt at historically low yields.

Bondholders overwhelmingly backed Suriname’s request for a debt standstill until at least the end of March, allowing the government to exit default. The sovereign is likely to use the payment holiday to begin negotiating a comprehensive debt restructuring.

Standard & Poor’s cut Braskem Idesa’s credit rating from B+ to B on Friday, placing the rating on negative watch as the Mexican government’s termination of a gas transportation contract disrupted the polyethylene producer’s operations. The rating agency warned the company needs to address its gas supply shortage urgently, but some credit analysts eye a buying opportunity.

Latin American power generation company EnfraGen will look to sell $710m of split-rated 10 year senior secured notes this week, nearly three years after it postponed an earlier attempt at tapping bond markets.

Latin America primary enjoyed a rare bustling start to December this week with three deals catching the eye for different reasons, despite several market participants saying they were ready for a calmer end to the year.

Argentina’s second largest provincial issuer, Córdoba, improved its consent solicitation to bondholders on Thursday, increasing proposed coupon payments. The offer comes as Argentine provincial debt talks gain momentum, but Córdoba is still some way off its bondholder group’s latest proposal — though the creditor committee has not yet reacted to the improved offer.

The Commonwealth of the Bahamas raised $225m of 12 year money on Wednesday, taking advantage of a strong rally in its most recently issued bonds to tap markets 125bp inside where it did less than two months ago.

After monitoring bond markets for several weeks, Brazil took the plunge on a slightly softer day on Wednesday to raise $2.5bn via the reopening of three different notes.

The Argentine Province of Río Negro on Tuesday launched a consent solicitation that has already earned the support of more than half of bondholders after it improved an initial restructuring offer. But analysts warned that Argentina’s deteriorating economy was forcing provinces to be less aggressive in renegotiating their obligations.

The Dominican Republic is planning to take advantage of strong market conditions and tap its 2032 bonds to finance a buyback of four different dollar notes maturing between 2021 and 2025.

Brazilian steel producer Gerdau will repurchase $300m of dollar bonds with cash as its profits rise thanks to strong demand for steel.

A group of Suriname’s bondholders said they plan to support the government’s bid for a temporary debt standstill after the sovereign amended a consent solicitation to incorporate some of their requests.