Category: Structured Finance

CAF is eyeing the issue of $500m-equivalant in any of several different markets, including Yen and Euros, to diversify its funding base. “We continue to monitor the US situation,” CFO Hugo Sarmiento tells LatinFinance. “If we see we can do another dollar issue, then we’ll consider that also.” The lender did $250m in 10-year bonds in January and $75m-equivalent in MXP. Sarmiento mentions the local markets of Colombia, Peru, Chile and Uruguay as other possibilities. “Diversifying our investor base is the most important thing,” he says. Separately, Cabei (A2/A) wants $150m+ in a 2-10 year and Bladex is mulling $200m+ in a 2-7 year, according to bankers. Bladex is also preparing a $50m equivalent issue in Peruvian soles and registering a $300m equivalent MXP shelf.

Supranational lender Bladex expects to this week pick banks to arrange a $150m loan to refinance an August maturity. The facility should have a tenor of 2 years, says Milciades Denis, the bank’s head of treasury. Growth in deposits has given the bank extra funds to help refinance the original $235m facility. Bladex is also preparing a $50m equivalent issue in Peruvian soles, the second from a $300m shelf. The first was a $40m equivalent 7-year pricing close to the sovereign and Denis anticipates a similar tenor for the sequel, which will likely come in the next few months. Liquidity is strong, and there is healthy participation from the pension fund sector, Denis explains, in what is the bank’s second largest market after Brazil. Bladex is also eyeing an MXP issue from a new shelf, likely also to be for $300m equivalent. “We are speaking with several houses to see what we can do there,” Denis tells LatinFinance. The bank was upgraded to Baa2 in December by Moody’s. Denis was speaking on the sidelines of the fifth annual LatinFinance Latin American Borrowers & Investors Forum in Boston.

IDB has approved a $39.1m 25-year loan for Vitoria, the capital of the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo, to improve living conditions. The deal is part of a credit facility for integrated urban development programs in municipalities in Brazil, IDB says. The financing comes with a 5-year grace period and priced over Libor, says an IDB official.

Colombian cement company Cementos Argos will receive a $150m loan from CAF and the China Development bank, the multilateral says, to finance a new cement production line for Argo’s facility in Cartagena. Each of the financial institutions will provide $75m, CAF says. Price and tenor of the loan were not disclosed, a spokeswoman from CAF says, citing confidentiality issues. The operation is part of a strategic agreement signed between CAF and the Chinese institution to co-finance development projects in LatAm, the multilateral says.

The IDB has approved $128.9m in financing for ViaQuatro, the company in charge of construction of Line 4 of the Sao Paulo metro. The public-private partnership includes a direct A loan in two phases for $128.9m and a syndicated B loan for approximately $213.2m. “The new line will add approximately 21% in additional capacity to the metro system and the benefits of the project are expected to be shared broadly across low, medium and higher income populations,” says the IDB. The public sector is responsible for construction, while supply of rolling stock and systems as well as operation and maintenance will come from ViaQuatro, which has a 30+ year concession. The sponsors of the project are Brazil’s Companhia de Concessoes Rodoviarias and Montgomery Participacoes, as well as Japan’s Mitsui.

Argentina will get a $110m 15-year loan from CAF to develop road infrastructure programs between Argentina and Paraguay, the multilateral says. The new roads will be located near the Yacireta dam, CAF says, close to the border between the two countries. CAF plans to open a representation office in Buenos Aires in Q3 this year, the multilateral says.

IDB has approved a $100m 25-year variable interest rate loan to the Bahamas for improvement in the road network of the nation’s most populous island, New Providence, which seats the country’s capital, Nassau. The new loan will have a 4-year grace period, IDB says.

The IDB has approved $200m in financing to Brazilian steel producer Gerdau Acominas to support its capital investment program. The multilateral will provide a $50m 9-year term loan with a 24-month grace period, and a disbursement period of 24 months at a spread over Libor, while up to $150m in financing will be provided in a syndicated loan with banks that have agreements with the multilateral. An IDB spokeswoman declined to comment on price.