South America

Argentine province La Rioja may have had to settle for a wider yield than some expected on its bond debut on Thursday, but a promising aftermarket performance provided some hope for the shrinking number of provinces yet to issue.

Latin American new issue markets are in for a quiet period, said DCM bankers, though Argentina continues to throw up new borrowers.

The Argentine province, La Rioja, was looking strong reception after releasing initial price thoughts of 10% for a planned eight year (6.5 year average life) bond on Tuesday, despite some investors expressing their fatigue at the number of Argentine provincial issuers to have brought deals.

S&P’s upgrade of Brazilian oil giant Petrobras could attract more investors into the company’s curve, according to Lat Am market participants.

Brazilian oil giant Petrobras has wrapped up a tender offer that ended up far larger than planned, after bondholders owning $5.57bn of paper agreed to sell their notes.

Privately held power generation company Stoneway Capital Corporation, which includes Siemens among its partners, sold $500m of 10 year bonds at a yield of 10% on Friday.

Bad weather in New York left trading volumes in Latin American bond markets low on Thursday, and Lat Am primary may also now find activity cooling despite a seemingly relentless wave of Argentine borrowers looking to tap the market.

Argentina’s largest province, Buenos Aires (PBA), saw its bonds trade up the day after it raised $1.5bn of five and 10 year bonds.

Lat Am bond bankers said that Brazilian mining giant Vale had found the perfect window to tap its dollar bonds due 2026 on Monday — some four months after it had mandated banks for the trade.

Peruvian mortgage lender Fondo Mivivienda sold Nuevo sol-denominated bonds to international investors on Tuesday in a rare local currency trade from Latin America, as the issuer looks to turn much of its debt to soles in the future.

Argentina’s largest province, Buenos Aires (PBA), raised $1.5bn of five and 10 year bonds on Wednesday as investors showered love to the tune of $4.3bn upon the 120bp pick-up to the sovereign it paid.

Peruvian mortgage lender Fondo Mivivienda on Tuesday found a high level of appetite for local currency paper with a $600m-equivalent dual tranche deal of which three quarters was in Nuevo soles.