Colombia has indicated interest in obtaining a 2-year flexible credit line (FCL) for SDR3.9bn ($6.1bn) from the IMF. John Lipsky, first deputy managing director of the IMF, says he welcomes Colombia’s interest. “I…intend to move ahead rapidly in seeking approval by the fund’s executive board of Colombia’s request in early-May,” he says. The IMF forecasts that Colombia’s GDP will grow 4.6%, supported by strong private consumption and an expected upturn in the world economy. However, it is unclear how resilient and strong the global economic recovery will be and an adverse shock to global growth could impact Colombia’s economic growth, according to the IMF. The FCL is an instrument available to IMF member countries deemed to possess very strong fundamentals, policies, and track records of policy implementation.
Category: Loans
Brazil’s Fibria Seeks Loan
Fibria Celulose, a Brazilian paper and pulp producer, has RFPs out for an export prepayment facility, made up of a 4-year revolver and 8-year term loan, expected to be for $800m, according to market participants. The paper producer was upgraded last month to BB+ from BB by Fitch with a stable outlook. Fitch had placed Fibria on positive watch in December following its announcement of the sale of a 50% stake in Conpacel for BRL1.5bn. Fitch also assigns a BB+ rating to Fibria’s $750m in 2021 bonds.
Samarco Out with RFP
Brazilian iron ore miner Samarco, which is jointly owned by Vale and BHP Billiton, is looking for a $400m export pre-payment term loan, say loan bankers. Samarco is said to be looking for either a 7-year or 10-year maturity for the loan, according to market participants, who say they are surprised by the maturity, which is longer than those seen in recent transactions. “This is quite a long tenor, but a lack of paper means borrowers will be more likely to push out the maturity to longer than 5-years, which is what we have seen more recently,” says one syndicated loans banker. The world’s second-largest exporter of iron ore pellets closed a $400m 5-year club deal in December. BNP, HSBC, ING, RBS and SMBC committed $80m each, at a spread of 160bp over Libor. The loan was for general corporate purposes, and for funding a $3bn expansion plan for 2011, according to bankers with knowledge of the transaction.
Vale Closes Syndicated Loan
Vale on Monday closed its $3bn syndicated loan Monday with participation from over 20 banks, say market participants. “There was overwhelming interest in this loan, as it is an excellent credit, so pretty much all the big players in Brazil participated at some level,” says one syndicated loans banker. Another added that the lack of syndicated loans in the market added to the high level of demand. The new 5-year revolver is for working capital purposes. Credit Agricole, JPMorgan, Mizuho and Natixis are joint leads on the deal. Demand for MLA tickets was said to have come from 17 banks, but as tickets at this level were for $250m, some banks’ allocations were expected to have been cut back, say bankers away from the deal. General syndication closed last week, add market participants. The loan is offering a spread of 65bp over Libor, with fees of 15bp for utilization of up to 66% and 30bp for utilization above this, according to bankers with knowledge of the transaction.
IDB Gives Jamaica $60m Loan
The IDB has approved a 20-year $60m loan to Jamaica, the third it has provided for Jamaica’s public financial and performance management program. The loan has a 5-year grace period, and an interest rate based on Libor. The loan brings the total amount invested by the IDB in the program to $180m. The program includes policies to improve fiscal responsibility, performance management and financial management, says the IDB in a release. Jamaica’s Ministry of Finance and Public Services is in charge of the project.
Mexicali Gets Banobras Loan
The Mexican municipality of Mexicali has received an MXP814.5m 20 year loan from Banobras, the government development bank. Moody’s gives the loan an A1 rating on a national scale. The loan is payable through a trust, to which Mexicali has pledged the flows of 28.5% of its participation transfers from the Mexican government. The loan will pay a spread over TIIE, and will be used to refinance 3 Banobras loans with an outstanding value of MXP735.6m. The ratings action reflects the underlying creditworthiness of the state, a strong trust structure, solid debt service coverage ratios of 2.3x in a base case scenario and 2.2x in a stress case scenario and solid reserve funds that represent 2.2x coverage of debt service at the minimum point over the life of the loan.
Pemex Trading Unit to Amend Loan
PMI, the trading arm of Mexico’s Pemex, is looking to upsize a 3-year syndicated loan from the $500m originally taken out in January 2010 to $700m, according to market participants. Pricing is heard to be 125bp over Libor, say bankers with knowledge of the transaction. The original deal priced at Libor plus 225bp. Bank meetings were held in New York yesterday. Existing lenders were given the option of increasing their tickets and new banks were also invited. Around 30 banks are said to have attended the meeting. BBVA, Calyon, Natixis, RBS and SocGen, which were the leads on the original deal, are returning to lead the amended deal. Commitments are due within the next two and a half weeks.
America Movil Approached by Asian Lenders
America Movil is receiving interest from Asian and European lenders hoping to participate in the syndication process for its $4bn loan, Victor Mendez, corporate treasurer, tells LatinFinance. Mendez says the Mexican telecom company is seeing interest from lenders it had not worked with before. “New names are approaching us and are keen to know what further opportunities there are to work with America Movil,” he says. The syndication process is expected to close within the next two weeks, says Mendez, who says that bookrunners have already received some commitments and other banks looking to participate are meeting with their credit committees this week. The spread on the $2bn 3.5-year loan is 50bp over Libor, with a 15bp commitment fee. Up-front fees for commitments in retail syndication are 7.5bp for $50m commitments, 10bp for $100m, 12.5bp for $150m and 17.5bp for $250m, according to a banker with knowledge of the transaction. The spread on the $2bn EUR equivalent 5-year loan is 60bp over Euribor, with a 20bp commitment fee, according to bankers with knowledge of the transaction. Up-front fees are 12.5bp for EUR50m tickets, 17.5bp for EUR100m, 22.5bp for EUR150m and 27.5bp for EUR250m, say market participants. The bookrunners on the first tranche are Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, BBVA, Citi, Intesa and Mizuho. Bookrunners on the second tranche are Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, Citi, Intesa, JPMorgan and Societe Generale. The banks have committed $400m each. HSBC is acting as lead arranger, but not as bookrunner. There is also a utilization fee of 15bp if America Movil draws down over 50% of the loan. Although participating bankers say the fees are tight, they are still willing to participate due to a lack of loans transactions in the market.
Itau Unibanco Gets SME Loan
Itau Unibanco has closed on a $280m loan, made up of a $40m 5-year A loan from the IIC and a B loan for $240m from a group of banks. The B loan was made up of a $207m 3-year tranche and a $33m 5-year tranche. The 3-year tranche was priced at 120bp over Libor, with a 50bp up-front fee. The 5-year tranche was priced at 150bp over Libor, with a 75bp up-front fee. The loan was upsized by $15m from an original size of $265m, says a banker with knowledge of the transaction. HSBC Bank Bermuda, JP Morgan Chase, Mizuho Corporate Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation participated in the B loan, with tickets of up to $50m each. The proceeds will be used to provide financing to the bank’s SME clients and is the largest A/B loan raised by the IIC, it says.
CAF Seeking Loan
CAF, the Andean multilateral, is looking to raise a $150m 3-year loan syndicating in Asia, according to bankers with knowledge of the transaction. SMBC is the sole lead and is in the process of bringing in investors. The transaction is expected to close in next month and pricing is heard to be Libor + 95bp.