Category: Bonds

ICE, Costa Rica’s national power and telecom company, will in the next two months raise $381m in long-term financing via the IDB and the syndicated loan market to support its infrastructure development in that country. The IDB is targeting a $200m 15-year A loan and a $181m 12-year B loan that will be syndicated out in the bank market. An official close to the process says using project finance-like covenants on the facility will allow lenders to monitor performance of the borrower and the loan over time. This is also the first IDB loan to a quasi-sovereign without a sovereign guarantee, marking a deliberate effort by the multilateral to broaden its private sector mandate. A bank meeting will be held in the second week of January and syndication will likely be wrapped up by the end of February.

Bladex, the Panama-based supranational bank, has named Jaime Celorio as its CFO, effective February 22. Celorio was previously with Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs and replaces Carlos Yap, who leaves Bladex after 27 years to pursue other opportunities.

Cabei, the Honduras-based multilateral, is arranging a loan worth up to $52.1m for Colombia’s Hidroelectrica del Teribe. Proceeds will finance a 31.3MW hydroelectric project in Panama. The plant is part of the Central American regional SIEPAC initiative.

Fitch has upgraded Cabei to A- (stable) from BBB+. The agency notes an improvement in the credit quality of Cabei’s founding members, a strong capital base despite vigorous growth, a return of private sector exposure to historic levels and the enhancement of several self imposed corporate governance rules and control techniques. It also highlights Cabei’s preferred creditor status, strong capital base, good asset quality and established track record in terms of self sustainable profitability. Limitations include the volatility of the economic environments in which the institution operates, significant loan concentration and the member countries’ creditworthiness. “The ratings also factor in relatively high average exposure to the private sector,” says Fitch. “As Cabei is one of the few providers of medium-term financing to the region, Fitch considers that its shareholders have a vested interest in supporting it should it run into difficulties.” The Honduras-based bank is 59% owned by its five founding member states: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The remainder belongs to Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Taiwan, Spain, Dominican Republic and Panama. The bank’s usable capital/required capital ratio remains relatively strong at 2.7x at end-June 2007, says Fitch.