Colombia Shoots for H1 Dollar Bond

Colombia aims to raise before June the $500m it needs to borrow internationally under this year’s plan, the finance ministry’s external markets director Patricia Moreno says in a conference call with investors. The sovereign was able to complete 80% of its 2010 borrowing through 2009 pre-funding. Moreno says the government would like to complete the remainder by June, as this is an election year. “We will consider a reopening of an outstanding bond if the market is there, or a new issuance,” she says. Moreno does not give a more specific indication of timing, explaining that the government will monitor the markets for the right window. In addition to $500m from international markets, the government requires this year $1.7bn from multilaterals, and will also raise COP13trn ($6.56bn) from auctions of domestic TES bonds.