Category: Bonds

Peru LNG has launched to retail a $400m B loan backed by the IDB that is part of the regasification terminal’s $2.5bn financing package. The 15-year loan (C+12 years) was upsized from an original $250m amount, based on interest from participants, according to a banker familiar with the transaction. The sponsor and MLAs Societe Generale and BBVA are inviting fewer than 10 banks, hoping to add to ING, Sumitomo Mitsui and Mizuho, who joined prior to launch. The rest of the financing package supporting the more than $3bn project includes ECA guarantee facilities from the US Export-Import Bank ($400m), Export-Import Bank of Korea ($150m) and Italy’s Sace export credit agency ($250m). There is also a $300m IFC A loan, a $400m IDB A loan, a $150m direct loan from the Export-Import Bank of Korea, and up to $350m in local bonds underwritten by Peruvian banks and arranged by Banco de Credito del Peru. Sponsors Hunt Oil, SK Energy, Repsol YPF and Marubeni have contributed more than $1bn in equity.

The IDB has approved a 16-year $400m non-sovereign guaranteed loan to provide financial support to Transantiago, the public transportation system of Santiago, Chile. The proceeds will be managed by Transantiago Financial Administrator (AFT), the private sector entity responsible for the system’s payments and collections. The loan will also support Chile’s comprehensive plan to improve the operation and quality of Transantiago’s bus and subway services, which are used by some 5.4m passengers a day. The IDB is also preparing a $10m loan for a program led by Chile’s Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications to establish the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which will monitor Transantiago’s services.

The IDB has approved a $20m senior A/B loan for Honduras’ Banco Ficohsa to support the expansion of housing loans and credit for SMEs. It is part of a $25m medium to long-term credit facility, with a $5m MIF subordinated loan expected to be approved shortly. “The new loans will help Ficohsa to expand its mortgage portfolio and issue more loans to small and medium-sized businesses,” says the IDB. “It will also help to diversity Ficohsa’s funding sources and extend the terms of its debt obligations.” Ficohsa is the third largest bank in Honduras in terms of assets. In December 2007 it had $1.1bn in assets and $780m in deposits, says the IDB.

Donald Terry, the head of the IDB’s Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), is retiring July 1. He is 62 June 20, and therefore eligible for retirement. Terry is well known for his work on remittances and this week warned that the Mexican economy could be severely impacted if flows from abroad, currently flat, start to drop. A fall in remittances to Brazil is actually a good sign, according to Terry, as more Brazilians stay home or return from abroad because of better economic conditions and the appreciation of the BRL. Terry tells LatinFinance he is talking to the World Bank and other organizations about continuing his career, in Africa.

The party may soon be over for LatAm as the eventual onset of the commodity bust coincides with the start of the election cycle, says BCP Securities in a note from the IDB meetings. The shop notes “a strange disconnect” at the Miami meetings, characterized by rampant optimism of Latin Americans versus a somber mood from North Americans and Europeans. “Many institutional clients were forced to skip the meetings, due to budget cuts and reduced travel allowances. The venues lacked the flair of previous years, when no cost was spared on entertainment and glitz. Moreover, many discussions focused on the depth of the global financial crisis, and the implications it had for the southern latitudes,” says BCP. “As much as the Latins tried to revive the party atmosphere, there was a sense that it was all over.”