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.
Category: Regions
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
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.
Posted inDaily Brief
Mexican Coppel To Issue 1.5 Billion Debt
The chain of Mexican department stores Coppel plans to issue around 1.5 billion pesos ($142 million) of debt next month as part of a total offering of 3 billion pesos. The company says it will issue five-year floating-rate notes to help finance expansion plans. The issue has been rated AA(mex) by Fitch México and is being arranged by Banamex.
Posted inDaily Brief
Bolivian Exports Reach Record High
Despite the country’s political turmoil, Bolivian exports between January and October of this year reached a record high of $2.22 billion and are likely to hit $2.60 billion by year end. Last year exports totaled $2.18 billion. Export growth has been driven by sales of hydrocarbons, and agriculture and livestock which rose 51% and 32% respectively.
Posted inDaily Brief
Uribe Announces Reelection Bid
Colombia’s President Alvaro Uribe has formally announced that he will be running for reelection in next year’s elections. This follows a process, recently completed, to change the country’s constitution thereby allowing him to stand for a second term. Despite a slide in the polls lately, Uribe can still boast the highest approval rating of any president of Colombia.
Posted inDaily Brief
Mexico Lowers Benchmark Interest Rate
Mexico cut its benchmark overnight lending rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 8.7%. This is the fourth month in a row that the Central Bank has lowered interest rates as inflation slowed to 3.05% in the 12 months to end-October. The government says inflation is forecast to reach 3.5% this year, within the 2%-4% range targeted.
Posted inDaily Brief
New Energy Minister For Bolivia
Sergio Medinaceli, former La Paz Prefect and oil industry consultant, has been appointed Bolivia’s new energy minister. This is the country’s third energy minister in the past six months. Medinaceli replaces Jaime Dunn who resigned after failing to renegotiate contracts with international oil companies to take account of Bolivia’s new hydrocarbons law.
Posted inDaily Brief
Mexican Gurria To Head Up OECD
Jose Angel Gurria, a former Mexican finance minister, has been named as the next secretary general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, taking over from retiring incumbent Donald Johnston. Gurria served as Mexico’s finance minister between 1997 and 2000 and played a part in stabilizing Mexico’s economy following the peso devaluation in 1994.