Global evaporation of liquidity has put several large LatAm infrastructure projects on ice. The Panama canal says it can continue unhindered, with the help of multilaterals.
Category: Regions
Posted inMagazine
PERU RETAIL: Dear Prudence
Expansion in Peruvian retail banking will likely be slowed by the global meltdown. But a rise in thrifts opens up new frontiers to offset contraction.
Posted inMagazine
Local Investment Bank − Mexico: Citi-Banamex
Diverse for all Seasons
Most of the large institutions operating in Mexico fail to convince across all investment bank lines. BBVA Bancomer is the debt leader by volume this year, but it lacks the same commitment to M&A, as does Santander.
Posted inMagazine
Best Bank − Panama: Banco General
General Still Commands
It has been over a year since Panama’s Banco General completed integration with Banco Comercial, creating a national champion with $7.2 billion in assets, 21% of the system’s private loans and 25% of local deposits. With HSBC still working to fully consolidate Banistmo, General still has a dominant position – for now. It is on this strength that the institution retains the title of LatinFinance Bank of the Year for Panama.
Posted inMagazine
Best Bank − Mexico: BBVA Bancomer
Storm Protected
No one can yet be sure how much Mexico’s economy will suffer next year from the global credit mess and US slowdown. Over the past several years, its banks have lent ever more aggressively as they try to poach customers from each other and recruit from the lower-earning unbanked masses. A slowdown in lending is inevitable in 2009, with Fitch for one seeing growth of 5%-12%, after several years of rates above 20%.
Posted inDaily Brief
Moody’s Upgrades Peru Structured Notes
Moody’s has upgraded the foreign currency senior secured discount notes issued by the Peru Enhanced Pass-Through Finance to Ba1 from Ba2 following an upgrade of the foreign currency bond rating of the sovereign. The special purpose entity issues project notes to finance the construction of two segments of Corredor Vial Interoceanica Sur Toll Road, sections 2 and 3. Moody’s says the rating of the notes reflects the importance of the highway segments which are the subject assets of the 25 year concession agreements between the concession companies – Concesionaria Interoceanica Sur, Tramo 2 and Concesionaria Interoceanica Sur, Tramo 3 – and the government. The concession agreement provide for the construction, maintenance and operation of the two segments. However, the sources of repayment for the notes are annual payments from the state.
Posted inDaily Brief
Panama Launches $200m Diamond Exchange
Panama has launched a project to build its own diamond exchange, a $200m project that will include a complex with a shopping mall and high-end jewelry stores. Construction is scheduled to begin in mid-2009. The first stage should be ready in 18 months. While Panama’s government supporters say the country’s transformation into a regional hub has offset the impact of the US slowdown, others warn that an accompanying demand surge causes inflationary pressure. However, JPMorgan forecasts that inflation, which stands at about 10%, will drop to 7% in 2009. GDP growth, however, will shrink from a current 8.5% this year to 5.0% in 2009, the bank says.
Posted inDaily Brief
Mexico Prepares Debt Buyback
The Mexican government plans to buy back up to MXP40bn in fixed-rate UDI and peso-denominated bonds with maturities from 10-30 years. The scheme is intended to complement measures announced last week to restore liquidity to local markets, including a reduction in issuance of long-term debt in Q4 and an increase in issuance of short-term Treasury bills, the finance ministry says. It does not specify when or how. “It is not clear why they need to do this when the local markets were responding to what they have already announced this week,” Alonso Cervera, head of non-Brazil LatAm economics at Credit Suisse, tells LatinFinance. He notes that rates on 10, 20, and 30-year bonds fell from around 920bp to 875bp on today’s news. Cautioning that much will depend on the mechanism of the buyback, Cervera says the program could aid the market by offering investors an opportunity to exit the bonds at high prices. Mexico’s public credit department was not immediately available for comment.
Posted inDaily Brief
Office Depot Mexico Rejects Gigante Bid
Office Depot has rejected an offer from Gigante to buy Office Depot’s 50% stake of their Mexican joint venture, Gigante says. Gigante put up an unsolicited non-binding offer of $430m in July for the remainder of their Office Depot de Mexico chain, but did not say why its bid was turned down. Gigante says it continues to discuss alternatives with its partner.
Posted inDaily Brief
Colinversiones, CNI Sell Stake to Kimberly Clark
Colombia’s Colinversiones and Compania Nacional de Inversiones announced they agreed to sell their 31.3% stake in Colombiana Kimberly Colpapel and their 1.6% stake in Papeles del Cauca to Kimberly-Clark Worldwide for $288.7m in cash. The 31.3% stake in Colpapel is equivalent to 595.6m shares and the 1.6% stake in Papeles del Cauca adds up to 201.9m shares. The companies say they want to use proceeds of the sale to invest in the energy sector.