CFE Set for Local Bond

Mexico’s Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) is set to price a bond in the domestic market, a transaction initially scheduled for yesterday. The postponement by one day is due to documentation details, according to bankers on the deal, rather than market-related issues. The state-owned utility plans to price up to MXP4bn in a combination of 10-year MXP-denominated and UDI-denominated notes, according to a banker managing the sale. If CFE opts for UDI notes, it would be the first corporate to issue in the inflation-linked unit this year. The transaction, rated AAA on a national scale, comes from a MXP24bn shelf. BBVA is managing the sale. CFE aims to follow Pemex in pricing a large deal to help set a benchmark for Mexico’s corporate issuers, who have had a tough time in 2009 reaching a price consensus with investors. April 2, Pemex sold MXP6bn in 2012 bonds at TIIE plus 100bp and MXP4bn in 2016 bonds at a fixed 9.15% in a well oversubscribed issue.