South America

Banco BV, the banking arm of Brazilian conglomerate Votorantim, raised $500m of five year senior unsecured bonds on Wednesday in a deal well supported by retail, local and Brazilian bank buyers as well as the usual EM-dedicated institutional accounts.

Telecom Argentina is adding a sale of new bonds to an exchange offer in what would be the first Argentine new issue in international bond markets in over a year.

Martín Guzmán, Argentina’s finance minister, was not to be budged from his position on the country’s debt restructuring offer on Monday evening even as three groups of creditors signed a cooperation agreement to jointly express their rejection of the government’s latest offer.

Just weeks after rating agencies stripped the issuer of its investment grade rating, Brazilian petrochemicals giant Braskem sold $600m of hybrid bonds that bankers said showed the company’s commitment to its credit metrics.

Lat Am bond markets continued to demonstrate growing risk appetite as Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem began marketing hybrid bonds on Tuesday.

The run of new bond issues from Latin America credits looks set to extend this week after the slew of corporates from the region to tap the market last week mostly emerged with a combination of slim new issue concessions and positive aftermarket performance.

Latin America has been taking the spotlight in July after a record-breaking quarter for emerging markets bond issuance, but with US elections looming and all-in yields still very attractive, bankers across the emerging market world say there are plenty of reasons for issuers to continue to flock to markets.

Amid warnings about a looming debt crisis in emerging markets, bond investors this week hailed Ecuador as an example to follow in sovereign restructurings, while continuing their showdown with Argentina. Ecuador’s market-friendly philosophy appears to be paying dividends over Argentina’s more confrontational approach, but not every issuer is likely to follow its precedent, writes Oliver West.

Argentina’s largest bondholders on Wednesday evening dashed hopes that the government’s new improved restructuring offer would achieve mass take-up. But some investors took hope from the tone of the creditors’ statement.

Two Colombian companies kept corporate issuance from Latin America ticking with aggressive deals on Wednesday even as bankers reported softer conditions in US investment grade bond markets

Chilean non-bank financial institution Tanner is joining the slew of Latin American companies turning to bond markets as it holds investor calls ahead of a proposed five year amortising note.

Argentine bonds rallied on Monday after the government surpassed expectations with a new debt restructuring offer. But markets are still waiting on the reaction of the largest bondholders, as Argentina had abandoned negotiations ahead of its updated offer.