Category: Regions

Sinca Inbursa, the investment arm of Mexican mogul Carlos Slim’s clongomerate has agreed to purchase 15% of Gas Natural Mexico, for MXP760m, according to the company’s Spanish parent Gas Natural. Gas Natural owns 86.75% of its Mexican subsidiary, while Spain’s Iberdrola controls 13.25%. The transaction is pending government approval. Gas Natural Mexico has 1.1m costumers in Mexico and distributes gas in nine states.

Mass transit is an important subsector of infrastructure for development in Mexico, alongside water and waste treatment, say Mexican development bank officials. Guadalajara is looking at setting up a bus system similar to Mexico City’s Metrobus. In such a system – modeled after one in the Brazilian city of Curitiba – large buses travel swiftly through designated lanes, operating like a subway line where building an underground route would be too costly.

The State of Mexico is readying MXP3.6bn in five infrastructure projects, with the first set to begin bidding in July. The MXP1.3bn Vial Urbano road in Toluca will be launched this summer, along with a hospital and cultural center, followed later by two other road projects. The projects are being staggered – with the last road deal expected by September – to avoid clogging the market for financing, explains state finance secretary Luis Videgaray. Banobras expects to support the deal, following its success with a debut guarantee for State of Mexico’s MXP27bn refinance, its president Alonso Gracia Tames tells LatinFinance. After providing a first loss guarantee for the state in May, Banobras is looking to aid badly needed state-level infrastructure projects, he adds. “The role we can play is to provide instruments to facilitate channeling resources to states and municipalities,” he says. Garcia sees Banobras primarily providing performance guarantees for future PPPs at the pre-operational stage and also guarantees protecting sources of revenue once a project is operating. “There is a need for investment in smaller projects that when summed are of great value and that support the basic needs of the population,” the official says.

A chunky MXP4.39bn securitization from TMM Maritima, the offshore rig servicing contractor, has been pushed back by a week and is now set to price between July 1 and July 9, says a banker on the deal. The delay is due to pending paperwork at the exchange, he adds. The bonds have a 20-year final, 14-year average life, with duration of roughly 9 years. A range of 195bp-215bp over 28-day TIIE has been set, but bankers say market conditions will almost surely lead to a pricing above 200bp. The notes are backed by Pemex contracts. Value Casa de Bolsa is leading.