BNDES Offers Beefy Corporate Aid

Brazil’s government will offer BRL10bn in credit through BNDES to support activities in agribusiness, the finance ministry says. The funds will go mostly to support the country’s meatpacking sector and will be offered at an annual interest rate of 11.25%. The sector has seen problems stemming from over-indebtedness and drops in export demand, with Arantes and Independencia filing for bankruptcy protection this year. JBS is aiming to issue a $400m 5-year bond through its US units as soon as this week, at an expected yield of 12%-13%. JPMorgan and Bank of America are leading that B1 issue.