South America

After international investors placed nearly $450m-equivalent of orders for the Province of Buenos Aires’ peso-denominated floater last week, bankers and investors said that issuers in the country may favour local currency over dollars in coming weeks.

The Province of Buenos Aires was ready to price a Euroclear local law peso floater on Thursday evening as investors showed appetite for Argentina’s positive real interest rates despite volatility in broader markets.

Three of Brazil’s most important issuers received overwhelming responses to tender offers in the last week, as the country’s corporates focus on liability management.

Rio Oil Finance Trust, the SPV through which Rio de Janeiro’s state pension fund RioPrevidencia issues bonds backed by royalties from state oil giant Petrobras, has a knack for timing.

Brazilian bonds rallied on Thursday after the Supreme Court ruled that former president Lula Inácio da Silva must go to jail before exhausting his last appeal against a corruption conviction — effectively ruling him out of October’s presidential election.

Grupo Bimbo, the world’s largest bread maker, will begin meeting fixed income investors on Thursday as it plans a subordinated perpetual hybrid bond, just after Standard & Poor’s said the company was deleveraging more slowly than expected.

Argentina’s largest province is planning to issue around $496m of peso-denominated notes this week and will look to sell a portion of the bonds to international investors.

Brazilian mining giant Vale has completed the buy-back of $1.75bn in dollar bonds after more than half of the owners of its 4.375% 2022s agreed to sell their notes.

Brazilian state oil giant Petrobras will buy back $4bn of bonds as part of a tender offer after nearly twice as many bondholders offered to sell their notes.

Two Latin American companies raised dollar funding this week while two stayed on the sidelines as bankers said broader market conditions affected appetite in the region.

Debt capital markets bankers are beginning to pitch additional tier one deals to Chile’s banks as the South American country’s general banking law brings regulations in line with Basel III recommendations.

Landlocked South American country Paraguay is looking at the possibility of creating a sovereign wealth fund as part of a possible adjustment of its fiscal responsibility law, said deputy finance minister Humberto Colman Castillo.