Category: Caribbean

BB Holdings Limited, which primarily operates financial services businesses principally through The Belize Bank Limited and the Belize Bank International Limited in Belize and The Belize Bank (Turks and Caicos) Limited in the Turks and Caicos Islands, plans to float on AIM. Trading in the company’s shares is expected to start November 2. The company’s nominated adviser is Cenkos Securities and its broker is Fyshe Horton Finney Limited.

Central America and Caribbean sovereign debt performed very strongly in September, says Bear Stearns. The shop’s BSCAX index of those regions returned 2.44% last month, slightly more than the 2.14% rise in global sovereign debt. “Belize, El Salvador and Panama outperformed the market, while Costa Rica, Grenada, T&T, Barbados and Bahamas underperformed,” says Bear. In mid-yielding credits, the shop says the Dominican Republic 2011 bonds look cheap to their CentAm peers. “These bonds have widened relative to Guatemala ’11s, for example, but also versus El Salvador and Costa Rica. Moreover, the DR ’11s are two years shorter in average life,” says Bear.

BB Holdings, a financial services company operating in Belize, Turks and Caicos Islands and the Caribbean, has placed $50m in 10% series 2 fixed rate, unsecured, loan notes with a maturity date of November 2, 2014. It also issued 1.1m warrants to subscribe for new ordinary shares of the company at an exercise price of $6.50 until August 2 2014. The notes and warrants were offered to certain existing non-US shareholders in BB Holdings Limited. UK businessman Michael Ashcroft – BB Holdings’ chairman – bought $37.9m of the notes and 8.4m warrants and underwrote the rest of the deal. BB Holdings is actively pursuing a strategy to increase its US dollar denominated earnings in the Caribbean region and in particular in the Turks and Caicos Islands where the directors consider that there are significant opportunities. Proceeds are to capitalize The Belize Bank (Turks and Caicos) to fund lending principally in the tourism and property development sectors.

Jamaica reopened its 8% of 2039 bonds Wednesday for $150m, the first transaction from the new administration in the B1/B/B+ rated Caribbean nation. The notes were priced at 97.5 to yield 8.224%, or 341.2bp over the 2037 US Treasury note. The bond, originally offered in March for $350m to yield 8.125%, amortizes equally in the last three years. Deutsche Bank led.

The Royal Bank of Canada is close to buying Trinidad and Tobago’s RBTT Financial Group for more than $2bn, the Trinidad & Tobago Express reports, citing unnamed sources. The newspaper says the takeover would be paid for with 60% cash and the rest in shares, and has already won approval from key shareholders, while RBTT’s board of directors is close to giving its approval. RBTT has been in discussions with potential buyers for months. Other rumored suitors include Canadian rivals Scotiabank and CIBC, through its FirstCaribbean unit. A FirstCaribbean transaction, which would have formed a Caribbean retail and investment banking force, was strongly rumored during the summer. RBC was not available for comment.

Jamaica is heard to be considering reopening its 2039s in the coming days for as much as $150m, its first financing since the change of government. In March the sovereign issued $350m of the notes to yield 8.125% via Citi. This time around, the mandate is heard to have gone to Deutsche Bank.

S&P has affirmed its A minus rating on Trinidad and Tobago and revised its outlook on the rating to positive from stable. The move reflects continuing fiscal and current account surpluses that, in turn, strengthen macroeconomic stability and external flexibility. At the same time, the implementation of legislation establishing the Heritage and Stabilization Fund, which is estimated to reach 9% of GDP in 2007, will provide an increasingly important buffer for the country’s open, energy-based economy, says S&P analyst Roberto Sifon Arevalo. “Trinidad and Tobago’s strong current account surplus performance is expected to continue, and is forecast to reach 24% of GDP in 2007 and at about 22% in 2008,” says Sifon Arevalo. “At the same time, the fiscal performance is expected to remain positive on the back of strong energy prices,” he adds. The agency also notes a falling government debt burden with inflationary pressures that have resulted in the central bank increasing open market operations to an expected 7% of GDP in 2007 from 1.8% of GDP in 2004.

Marubeni Caribbean Power Holdings (MCPH) has extended until September 24 a cash tender offer for any and all of the $100m aggregate principal amount outstanding of 7.017% notes due 2016 issued by Mirant Trinidad Investments (MTI). MCPH acquired MTI on August 8 and is paying for the buyback with proceeds from a new $110m credit facility. ABN AMRO, Calyon, ING and Mizuho are dealer managers.

Bear Stearns has raised its credit outlook on Jamaica, after the technicals improved following the amortization of a $225m bond, and recent amortizations of locally-issued US-dollar-indexed bonds. Also, the JLP Party, expected winner in the September 3 elections, is expected to introduce market-friendly policies. Barbados’ still-high current account deficits and limited flexibility earned it a downgrade.