Costa Rica OK to Issue

Costa Rica’s congress has given its second and final vote in favor of issuing $4bn in bonds over a 10-year period, with a maximum of $1bn per year. In what would be its first international bond since 2004, the Baa3/BB+/BB+ sovereign is expected to kick start an RFP process ahead of issuing a benchmark size 10-year. “We expect the new bond to be issued in approximately two months; the law establishes a series of time-consuming procedures that need to be completed before the new bonds can be issued,” Nomura says in a report. Costa Rica is turning to the dollar market to tap low interest rates and ease pressure on local currency financing.