South America

A fresh round of US sanctions on Venezuela’s government will add to the pressure on 46th president of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro to clear off, said bond investors.

Brazilian pulp and paper producer Suzano returned to bond markets for the third time in five months on Tuesday, tapping its 2029s for a further $750m.

The US sanctions slapped on Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) this week look similar to those that have just been removed from Russia’s EN+ and Rusal. The move indicates that the US believes in the effectiveness of sanctions and is happy to keep deploying them. Emerging markets investors should beware.

The largest and best rated airline in Latin America has mandated six banks to lead a bond sale as it prepares to issue $500m-$700m of senior unsecured bonds.

Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile, the largest copper producer in the world, became the first Latin American quasi-sovereign to tap bond markets this year as it returned to the long end of the curve.

Brazilian building materials company Votorantim Cimentos has increased the size of a tender offer and given bondholders more time to participate, it said on Friday.

Investors who took a chance on an unusual ice-breaker for the 2019 Latin American corporate bond market were rewarded on Thursday as the bond was up 2.75 points the day after pricing.

South American sovereign Colombia pulled off what one banker called a textbook trade on Wednesday, finding strong demand, tightening significantly from price talk, and then seeing the notes edge tighter in the secondary.

Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) is planning to issue its first public green bond this year, after kicking off its 2019 funding with a euro benchmark and announcing plans to meet US investors next week.

Bond investors and analysts warned on Wednesday that there was still deep uncertainty in store for Venezuelan bondholders even if market hopes materialise and Nicolás Maduro is soon to leave the presidency. Moreover, not everyone thinks his imminent exit is a given.

South American development bank Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) had its first outing in bond markets on Wednesday with a new euro benchmark as it took advantage of a favourable euro/dollars basis swap.

Colombia jumped on a turnaround in sentiment on Wednesday to become the third Latin American sovereign in just over a week to receive strong demand for dollar paper.