Panama Fund Nets $120m Bond Profit

Panama’s government-backed Fondo Fiduciario para el Desarrollo (FFD) has made $24m profit by selling $346m in 6.25% of 2036 government bonds, Panama’s finance ministry says. This takes total profit from the sale of Panama sovereign bonds it held to $120m. The fund – created in the 1990s with proceeds from various privatizations and has government debt among its assets – sold $250m to the Caja Seguro Social pension fund and $95.9m to Morgan Stanley at 106.25. Morgan Stanley plans to periodically offer the bonds to the public. The ministry says the fund has sold all of its 2027, 2034 and 2036 sovereign bond positions. Panama, which received its first investment-grade rating last week from Fitch, attempted to sell all of its holdings in the three series ($759.7m) at once in December. It pulled the deal after announcement, opting instead to unload the paper in tranches, including $441m of the 2027s in a February transaction.