Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) is to rate investment funds in Mexico from December. The ‘Fund Star Ranking’ will rank performance, investor interest and growth potential and will initially be published on an annual basis. S&P currently provides similar ‘Fund Star’ rankings in Brazil.
Category: Regions
Posted inDaily Brief
Peru: Government Names Election Candidate
Jeanette Enmanuel has been named the presidential candidate of Peru’s ruling party Perú Posible for the upcoming elections next April. Enmanuel, who owns a natural medicines business – Santa Natura, has gone on record as saying she will not draw a presidential salary if elected. The businesswoman, who has no experience of politics, also said she would reduce the salaries of the national legislators.
Posted inDaily Brief
Scotiabank Buys Banco Wiese Sudameris
Canadian Scotiabank has bought Peru’s third-largest bank, Banco Wiese Sudameris, from controlling shareholder — Italy’s Intesa in a private deal. The sale ends months of speculation regarding prospective investors. It is not yet known what Scotiabank paid for the Peruvian entity. Scotiabank is the third-largest in Canada in terms of assets. It also holds a minority stake in local Banco Sudamericano and controls Scotiabank Inverlat in Mexico.
Posted inDaily Brief
Peru Raises Benchmark Rate
Peru has raised its benchmark interest rate from 3.00% to 3.25%. This is the first time it has raised the rate since October last year. The currency, the sol, rose as a result from 15-month low of 3.4185 against the US dollar on Thursday. Peru’s inflation was running at 1.1% in the 12 months to November.
Posted inDaily Brief
Peru To Issue $832 Million Debt
Meanwhile, Peru is planning to tap the domestic and international debt markets before Christmas to raise up to $832 million. The bonds are expected to have maturities of between 15 and 20 years. The money will be used to settle its debt with Japan Peru Oil Corporation (Japeco) arranged in the 1970s to build an oil pipeline for state-owned PetroPeru. The international tranche of the sovereign issue will be arranged by Citigroup Global Market Inc.
Posted inDaily Brief
Mexican IMSA To Float New Company
Mexican conglomerate Grupo IMSA is proposing to spin off its non-steel-producing subsidiaries and group them under one company, called G2, before floating the entity on the stock exchange. The proposal being put to IMSA shareholders aims to increase the value of these assets. A shareholders’ meeting is slated for 16 December.
Posted inDaily Brief
Pemex Issues $750 Million Global Bonds
Mexican state-owned oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has issued international bonds worth $750 million. The bonds mature on 3 December 2012 and offer a coupon of 60bp over Libor. The money raised will be used to finance infrastructure projects. The issue was led jointly by HSBC and Morgan Stanley.
Posted inDaily Brief
Bancolombia To Form Largest Leasing Company
Bancolombia, Colombia’s largest bank, in terms of market share, is planning to form the country’s largest leasing company when it merges Leasing Colombia and Suleasing. The new entity, which is still without a name, will start operations in the first half of 2006. It will have assets of $1.3 billion. It will become the third-largest leasing company in Latin America after Itauleasing and Safra Leasing of Brazil.
Posted inDaily Brief
Colombian Colpatria Raises $47 Million
Colombian bank Colpatria has just raised $47 million through the sale of 3 billion shares, or 10% of the total stock, by its majority shareholder Inversiones Abacol. Part of the money raised will be used to settle a debt with Colombia’s deposit insurance agency Fogafin.
Posted inDaily Brief
Mexican Bank Earnings Grow 87%
Mexican bank earnings grew by 87% in the first nine months of the year compared with the same period in 2004. Between January and September net income of commercial banks in the country rose to $3.276 billion, driven by higher interest rates and increased consumer lending.