Hydroelectric generation company AES Panama priced its $300 million senior unsecured notes at a spread of 195bp to yield 6.463% through lead manager Credit Suisse in the 144A private placement market. The 10-year notes, which mature December 21, 2016, carry a bullet amortization, aimed at improving the company’s debt-service payments and extending the final maturity. The funds raised are to be used to pay down debt. UBS was co-manager. The notes have a preliminary Fitch rating of BBB minus.
Category: Regions
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GCC Improves Debt Profile
Mexican cement producer Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) said Friday it had fully repaid its $1.2 billion peso bond that was issued and placed in the domestic Mexican market in December 2001. In August, GCC closed a $250 million, seven-year syndicated credit to improve its debt profile and finance investments. The company drew down the remaining $160 million of the loan and used $130 million to repay the $1.2 billion pesos under a cross-currency swap. GCC operates in Mexico, the US and Bolivia.
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ICA Appoints Quintana Kawage To Succeed Guerrero
Mexican constructor Empresas ICA has named Alonso Quintana Kawage as the company’s new chief financial officer, effective January 1, 2007. Quintana is currently ICA’s director of finance and administration. He succeeds José Luis Guerrero, who becomes chief executive officer, effective January 1, as announced in August.
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Peru Economy Grows 9.82%
Peru’s economy grew 9.82% in October, year on year, according to INEI, the country’s national statistics institute. Growth was driven by manufacturing, which expanded 9.4%. Meanwhile, mining and hydrocarbons, normally the engine of growth in the local economy was down 8.6%, the third month in a row this sector has seen a drop in production. GDP for the first 10 months of the year was up by 7.67%.
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AES Panama Prices Bonds
Hydroelectric generation company AES Panama is heard to be out with pricing of around 200bp above comparable US Treasuries for its $300 million in senior unsecured notes, according to Dow Jones. The 10-year notes carry a bullet amortization, aimed at improving the company’s debt-service payments and extending the final maturity. The funds raised are to be used to pay down debt. Credit Suisse is the sole bookrunner with UBS as co-manager. The notes have a preliminary Fitch rating of BBB minus.
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OMA Excercises Greenshoe
Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario Centro Norte (GACN) or OMA announced Thursday that it was to exercise the over-allotment option for both the domestic and international tranches of its share offering. Half of the 25 million shares were placed in Mexico and the other half in the international markets as ADS. The greenshoe excercise price was equal to the November IPO price of US$18 per ADS and 24.85 pesos per Series B share. On November 29, OMA successfully raised around $434 million via an IPO of 167 million shares. The share offering completes the sell-off by the Mexican government of its remaining 48% stake in the operator six years after the privatization process of the company began. Citigroup led the US and international offering; Banamex was the bookrunner for the Mexican tranche.
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Maxcom Sells $150 Million Senior Notes
Mexican telcoms firm Maxcom sold $150 million of senior-secured notes Wednesday, priced at par to yield 11%. The eight-year paper matures December 15, 2014 and the notes are callable after four years. The offering, made under 144A/Reg S rules, was led by Morgan Stanley. It carries an equity clawback, in the event of an IPO, of 35% of the issue within three years. The notes are rated B3 by Moody’s and B by Standard & Poor’s.
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Colombia Congress Approves Tax Reform Bill
Colombia is heading in the right direction, say analysts, after Congress approved a modified tax reform bill Wednesday. The Bill seeks to reform and streamline taxes and promote investment. The Bill cuts corporate tax rate to 33% over three years from 38.5%, one of the highest levels in Latin America. Foreign companies will benefit from the abolition of a 7% levy on repatriating net profits. A new four-year annual assets tax of 1.2% (to fund military spending) will be levied on net assets of people and companies owning assets worth more than 3 billion Colombian pesos ($1.3 million). Five different VAT rates remain unchanged after a proposed additional level of VAT on staple foods was dropped by the government in September. The tax bill will now be submitted to approval by the Senate later this week.
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Credit Suisse Recommends Market Neutral Position On Ecuador
A research note from Credit Suisse Wednesday said it was recommending a market neutral position on Ecuador now that the new Correa administration has begun to clarify its debt strategy: “we cover the underweight in EC ’12s in the model portfolio”. The analysts noted that a recent trip to Ecuador had left them with the impression “that the incoming Correa government is likely to be pragmatic on the issue of external debt”, and that the government’s top priority is political system reform.
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Fitch Affirms Panama’s BB+ Rating
Fitch Ratings, Wednesday, affirmed Panama’s long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of BB+. The ratings agency also affirmed the sovereign’s long-term local currency IDR of BB+, the short-term foreign currency IDR of B and the country ceiling of BBB+. The rating outlook is stable. According to Fitch, “Panama’s key rating weakness relative to other Fitch-rated ‘BB’ category sovereigns is its high level of public debt, although a favorable maturity structure and the government’s manageable financing requirement over the medium term offsets this risk somewhat”.