South America

Only in Argentina could a finance minister claim that default on billions of dollars of bonds constitutes merely an “anecdotal date”.

The president of Grupo Energía de Bogotá (GEB) told GlobalCapital that the issuer’s faith in demand for its bonds had allowed it to tighten pricing sharply on its long-awaited return to bond markets last week, as the company waits for an improvement in domestic market conditions to continue its capital markets activity.

Analysts expect negotiations between Argentina and its foreign bondholders to continue past May 22, the date that the sovereign could enter default, with restructuring proposals from the creditors implying recovery values up to 50% higher than what the issuer initially proposed. But as both parties appear to be keen to find a solution, the bonds continued their rally on Monday.

Latin American development bank Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) began investor calls on Monday as it looks to sell a benchmark-sized euro denominated social bond to help fund its response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

ACI Airport Sudamérica, the operator of Uruguay’s largest airport, has received consent from its bondholders to delay a year of debt payments to help it through the Covid-19 pandemic — just weeks after creditors of its Argentine sister company achieved the same.

Argentine authorities were understood to be weighing up debt restructuring proposals from several bondholders on Sunday evening as default looms large for the South American sovereign.

The Province of Buenos Aires (PBA) legally entered default this week amid pleas from its creditors for serious restructuring negotiations. But Argentine sovereign bondholders are still holding out hope that they may come to an agreement with the national government.

Holders of Avianca’s international bonds are keenly watching the Colombian government’s next move after the airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York.

Argentina’s turnaround under former president Mauricio Macri turned out to be a castle built on sand. But as the country heads towards default, the slick execution of its bond market fairytale between 2016 and 2018 could show the Fernández government how to handle investors.

The International Monetary Fund is likely to approve a request from Chilean authorities for a two year flexible credit line (FCL) that the country’s central bank says is being sought “to reinforce the external position in a high risk external scenario”.

Grupo Energía de Bogotá (GEB), the Colombian electricity and gas distributor, tightened pricing sharply on a new 10 year deal as bankers reported huge appetite for the pick-ups being offered by the sturdiest investment grade EM companies.

The Argentina turnaround story under former president Mauricio Macri turned out to be a castle built on sand. But slick execution of the country’s two year bond market fairytale between 2016 and 2018 can provide the new government with some guidance in dealing with investors now it is staring down the barrel of default.