Mexico Rethinks Local Debt

Following a surprise $2bn dollar bond placement last week, Mexico plans to boost its domestic bond sales in Q1 2009, Hacienda says. It will double sales of its 20 and 30-year fixed-rate bonds to MXP2.0bn every 6 weeks and also sell MXP2.5bn in 10-year bonds every 6 weeks, up from MXP1.0bn in Q408. The government also aims to auction MXP4.5bn of its 3-year bond monthly, up from MXP3.1bn currently. The new plans come after it pared back sales in October of its long-term peso bonds through year-end, and offered to buy back up to MXP40bn of bonds. The repurchases will not continue. Mexico reopened international bond markets for EM issuers with a tightly priced $2bn 10-year 5.950% benchmark via Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs that took out a third of the sovereign’s 2009 funding needs.