South America

Santander Brasil has tested the country’s Letra Imobiliária Garantida (LIGs) covered bond regime with two privately placed deals.

Odebrecht Engenharia & Construçäo finally admitted defeat in its attempt to avoid default on Monday, as it acknowledged that it would not be making a $11.5m coupon payment due on its $519m of 4.375% 2025 bonds, paving the way for a restructuring.

Power generation and distribution company Nautilus Inkia is looking to give Latin America’s corporate bond markets one final burst of life in 2018, as it hits the road eyeing a 144A/Reg S senior unsecured offering.

Patience paid off for Peru on Thursday as its status as one of the safest economies in Latin America helped the sovereign to a new local currency benchmark that received strong interest from international investors.

Peruvian cement company Cementos Pacasmayo is trying to replace half its dollar bonds with a local currency bank loan.

Ecopetrol, the Colombian state oil company, said on Wednesday that it would redeem a $1.5bn bond maturing in 2019 with cash and confirmed that next year’s $3.5bn-$4bn investment programme would be self-financed. Colombia continues to provide slim pickings for bond markets.

Bondholders of Brazilian mining group Vale have taken the chance to decrease their exposure to the rapidly deleveraging company with relish, as investors holding over $3.8bn of paper attempted to participate in a tender offer capped at $1bn.

Odebrecht Engenharia & Construçäo finally admitted defeat in its attempt to avoid default on Monday, as it acknowledged it would not be making a $11.5m coupon payment due on its $519m of 4.375% bonds due 2025, paving the way for a restructuring.

Colombo-Canadian oil company Frontera Energy managed to persuade 91.16% of its creditors to approve an amendment in its bond indenture that will allow it to make larger payments to shareholders.

Some Latin American DCM bankers think the year is over for new issuance, and several are indeed wishing it already were. Though much of what put the brakes on in Lat Am this year will continue to affect the market in 2019, bond bankers should find reasons to believe January will be better.

Colombian oil company Frontera Energy is increasing the reward bondholders will earn if they give it permission to make more payments to shareholders.

Some Latin American DCM bankers think the year is over for new issuance, and several are indeed wishing it already were. Although much of what put the brakes on in Lat Am this year will continue to affect the market in 2019, bond bankers should find reasons to believe January will be better.