South America

Bolivia will be forced to abandon plans to raise crucial funding in bond markets, the country’s public credit head has told GlobalCapital, after its Congress passed a bill that requires the government to seek approval from the legislative branch on the terms of the issue, amid a tense political climate.

Uruguay raised $2bn-equivalent of debt on Wednesday — the bulk of which came from a rare inflation-linked local currency issue — to become the final investment grade Latin American sovereign to tap international bond markets in the coronavirus era.

Bankers said that Chilean cable company VTR had catered for both emerging markets and high yield bond buyers as it raised $1.15bn of new bonds across two heavily oversubscribed tranches on Wednesday.

Uruguay-headquartered Navios South American Logistics on Tuesday notched a $500m 10-year bond that left the company with a far more comfortable debt maturity profile. But Navios had to improve terms for investors — and wait a week after it first announced the issue — to get the refinancing done.

VTR Finance, the Chilean subsidiary of telecoms group Liberty Latin America, is marketing a dual-tranche refinancing that is likely to be distributed to both EM and dedicated high yield bond buyers and will shift debt towards the operating company.

Bankers said that Uruguay could provide a stern test of risk appetite if it decides to announce a new bond issue in local currency, after the sovereign began investor calls saying it could issue in dollars and/or Uruguayan pesos.

Peru's largest commercial lender Banco de Crédito del Perú (BCP) will begin fixed income investor calls on Monday as it contemplates a tier two capital bond issue, just two weeks after parent company Credicorp issued a debut $500m senior deal.

The possibility of Argentina’s debt negotiations ending up in court drew closer on Wednesday night, as the positions of the largest group of bondholders and the government appeared to be irreconcilable.

Nexa Resources, the mining arm of Brazilian conglomerate Votorantim, issued $500m of 10 year bonds on Monday, offering a healthy concession to its existing curve and seeing its new bond catch a broader rally on the break.

As sovereigns and corporates from all corners of the word suffer rating downgrades at an alarming rate, Brazilian meatpacker JBS bucked the trend on Tuesday as Fitch upgraded the borrower to BB+, just one notch away from investment grade status.

Nexa Resources, the mining arm of Brazilian conglomerate Votorantim, overcame a soft start to the week in international markets to raise $500m on Monday, with investors saying the company had offered a generous pick-up to its existing notes.

Peru’s largest financial group, Credicorp, tapped international bond markets for $500m on Wednesday, becoming the first debut issuer from Latin America since the Covid-19 crisis began.