Credit Suisse has kicked off coverage of Mexico’s Axtel with an Outperform recommendation on the 2017s and a market perform on the 2013s. “We think the Axtel ’17s offer attractive relative value with improving credit fundamentals, at a yield of 7.5%, whereas the upside on the ’13s will likely be limited by its callability (at 105.5 on 15 December 2008),” says the shop, which underwrote both Axtel deals. Axtel is Mexico’s second largest fixed telephony company with over 800,000 lines in service located across 19 cities as of April 2007, according to Credit Suisse.
Category: Regions
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Digicel Kicks Off El Salvador Coverage
Digicel, the fast-growing Caribbean telecom, has expanded into Central America by offering GSM mobile services in El Salvador. The firm sees CentAm as its next big opportunity and already has a license in Guatemala. El Salvador has a population of 7 million with mobile penetration of approximately 33%, says Digicel. The country’s mobile market continues to enjoy sustained growth with mobile phones overtaking fixed lines service in 2002, it adds.
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Colombia’s Zuluaga Sees $20 Billion For Infrastructure
Oscar Ivan Zuluaga, Colombia’s finance minister, expects to see an average of $5 billion in annual investments in infrastructure, excluding oil, between now and 2010, and identified this as one of the centerpieces of the administration’s national plan for development in the coming years. “This provides tremendous possibilities for investment,” he said, speaking to a group of strategists, investors and other market participants in Washington, DC and in New York via teleconference. He also expects the administration to bring unemployment down to 8.5% from the current 12%, and provide the entire population with full basic coverage in education, health and basic sanitation services. Poverty, he predicts, will fall to 39% in 2010 from 45% today.
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Ecuador Says “Yes” To Constitutional Reform
Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa, was given the backing by an overwhelming majority of the population to set about reforming the Constitution. Over 78% of Ecuadorians voted “yes” in Sunday’s referendum to establish a Constituent Assembly, according to pollster Cedatos-Gallup. Only 11.5% of those polled said they had voted against the proposal. Setting up the Assembly is the first step in a process that will limit the power of Congress and ultimately benefit the poorer levels of society, according to the Correa. However, critics have accused the president of seeking to consolidate power and of following the path of President Hugo Chávez in Venezuela.
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IFC Supports Mexican Infrastructure
IFC, the private-sector arm of the World Bank Group is investing up to $50 million for a 19% stake in Mexican infrastructure firm Infrainvest, a subsidiary of local constructor ICA. Atul Mehta, IFC’s director for Latin America and the Caribbean, commented: “IFC is partnering with ICA in Infrainvest through this equity investment in order to enhance the company’s ability to respond to Mexico’s growing infrastructure investment needs”.
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Slim Takes Number Two Spot
Mexican business tycoon Carlos Slim Helu, owner of Mexican telcos América Móvil and Telmex, has been named the second-richest man in the world by Forbes. Slim, the son of Lebanese immigrants to Mexico, moves ahead of US investor Warren Buffet and behind Microsoft’s Bill Gates. Slim is estimated to have personal wealth totaling $53.1 billion – not far behind the $56 billion amassed by Gates.
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Panama Replaces Canal Minister
Panama’s minister responsible for the Canal has been replaced on the eve of the inauguration of its historic expansion program. Ricaurte Vásquez, chairman of the Panama Canal Authority (CAP) has been replaced by the former comptroller general, Dani Kuzniecky. Vásquez had served as Panama’s economy minister from 2004 until 2006 when he was asked to take control of the Canal portfolio.
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Peru Raises $113 Million From Local-currency Taps
Peru raised $113 million (360 million soles) from the tap of two of its local-currency bonds. The finance ministry said it sold 270 million soles in 2026s to yield 6.14% and 90 million soles in 2046s to yield 3.25%. Demand for the paper was 448 million soles and 274 million soles, respectively. The sovereign last tapped its 2026 issue, which carries a coupon of 8.20%, in March. Then it raised $62.8 million (200 million soles) of the domestic paper, selling above par to yield 6.30%. The inflation-indexed 2046 paper carries a 3.63% coupon. The government is authorized to sell up to 2.33 billion soles of local-currency paper this year.
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Bolivian Senate Approves Energy Contracts
Bolivia’s opposition-controlled Senate has approved the new energy contracts drawn up with foreign oil and gas companies operating in the country. The new contracts were prepared following last May’s announcement by the government that it was nationalizing the country’s energy assets. They have since been the subject of intense criticism from the political opposition and have been the cause of several high-profile resignations in the government’s energy team.
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Ecuadorians Likely To Vote For Constitutional Reform
The majority of Ecuadorians will vote in favor of constitutional reform in Sunday’s referendum, according to a poll released on Tuesday. Cedatos-Gallup International revealed that 63% of those balloted said they will vote “yes” on April 15 in support of President Rafael Correa’s proposed reform process while only 20% will oppose the plan. Correa has said he will consider stepping down from the presidency if the public decide against proposals to rewrite the constitution. The president has made constitutional reform a priority since coming to power in January.