Jamaica Mulls Options for Debt Refi

Jamaica, which has EUR200m of debt coming due in February 2009, is considering all options to pay down the notes, including a private placement, Audley Shaw, the country’s finance minister, tells LatinFinance. The notes are trading to yield around 8%. “The first priority is to issue in the capital markets because that’s where we can get the longest maturities,” says Shaw. The bond market for single B issuers has been all but closed for the past several months and if that continues Jamaica may be forced to consider other options. “I want to refinance at 6%-7% – with 8% being the absolute maximum,” says Shaw, who notes he would consider issuing privately, where lower yields could be achieved if the public markets are still demanding a premium. Shaw says he will put out an RFP to banks in the coming months.