Panama’s finance ministry said Wednesday that it received authorization to raise up to $9 billion in debt as part of the government’s strategy to diversify its sources of financing and develop the local bond market.
Under a decree approved by the cabinet, the ministry can sell up to $6 billion worth of local bonds with maturities of between two and 10 years under multiple bond programs in the local market. It can also borrow up to $3 billion from local and international banks, the ministry said in a press release.
Finance Minister Felipe Chapman added that the recent approval does not mean the government will raise funds immediately.
“The objective is to have a prior authorization, which allows us to quickly access the financial markets under favorable conditions when necessary, giving us a greater capacity to respond to fluctuations in the seasonal needs of the treasury,” he said in the release.
The local bond issues will be “periodic and staggered,” the statement said, adding that the global market remains the country’s main source of financing.
Panama previously raised $3.1 billion in January in what was the sovereign’s biggest-ever global bond sale.