Honduras Mulls 2024 Retap

Honduras is considering a reopening of its 7.50% 2024 bonds to raise as much as $250m, according to people familiar with the sovereign’s plans.“They actually have $250m left from the borrowing authorization, and their fiscal deficit is set to widen to 6.0% of GDP from an earlier target of 4.5% of GDP, so the authorities are mulling a retap of the 2024s,” says an analyst familiar with the sovereign’s plans. A finance ministry spokesperson says while indeed the sovereign was analyzing the opportunity to issue the $250m balance of the $750m total authorized, the final decision is subject to internal approval and timing is still uncertain given volatility in the market that has shut down cross-border issuance for the last several weeks. Indonesia (BBB minus/Baa3/BB+) priced a $1bn 10-year bond Wednesday, and LatAm DCM bankers were hopeful it would generate the momentum for LatAm investment-grade issuers to follow. Honduras (B2/B+) raised $500m from the original 2024 sale in March, in its international market debut. The 2024 priced at par to yield 7.50%. Moody’s March rating assigned a negative outlook, reflecting concerns about the deterioration of the government accounts in 2012 and the low likelihood of significant fiscal consolidation in 2013.