Uruguay Keeps Debt Options Open

Uruguay ended a non-deal roadshow last week in what was described simply as investor updates with US accounts, according to a source at the country’s ministry of finance. Citi and BNP Paribas managed the meetings, which took the sovereign to meet with US accounts on the West Coast, Boston and New York from October 31 through November 2. Azucena Arbeleche, director of debt management at Uruguay´s finance ministry told LatinFinance in August that the sovereign was eyeing the dollar markets and would prefer to issue a dollar bond over an international inflation-linked transaction, but that its main focus is local currency issuance. Uruguay’s last transaction in the international market was a UYP19.91bn ($1bn) in inflation-linked 2028 bonds last year. A benchmark-sized dollar transaction would make sense for Uruguay, as it could raise funds to prepay loans from multilaterals, although it has no imminent financing needs and is in no rush to tap the dollar market. Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s have each returned the country to coveted investment-grade status this year.