Mexican government mortgage lender Infonavit is planning a sale of MXP5.69bn of its Cedevis RMBS, in what should be the first local RMBS sale of the year. The 2036 bonds will be denominated in UDIs and split into MXP2.85bn tranches amortizing one after the other and paying a fixed interest rate. Infonavit is targeting March 10 for the sale, according to regulatory documents. Banamex and HSBC are managing the transaction, rated AAA on a national scale. Infoanvit and fellow government lender Fovissste have propped up the Mexican RMBS market since the crisis all but wiped out issuance from private lenders. Infonavit priced MXP2.53bn in UDI-denominated RMBS in November at 5.4%, also through Banamex and HSBC.
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OSX to Brave IPO Waters
In the midst of rough market conditions that have resulted in pulled deals and rocky pricings, OSX, Eike Batista’s oil and gas shipping unit, has filed for an IPO via Credit Suisse and Itau BBA. The company had previously filed a charter stating its board had authorized an equity capital raise of BRL10bn. In another recent development, OSX has picked Hyundai, the Korean industrial that specializes in offshore platforms, to be a partner in OSX. Hyundai is taking a minority stake in exchange for helping assemble a shipyard in the south of Brazil. OSX is likely to count substantially on financing from the BNDES to build the facility, according to executives close to the startup. In addition OSX, which is operating at a loss, will look to the bank market and private investors for additional capital to build up facilities and projects, it says in the prospectus. It also notes that EBX, Batista’s holdco, can provide guarantees to back financing.
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Banco Votorantim Succeeds at Short End
Despite an increase in risk aversion globally tossing a wrench into the plans of many LatAm issuers last week, a 3-year tenor appeared to work to Banco Votorantim’s advantage, as it sold $500m in new bonds Friday. The 2013 Baa2 notes priced at 99.563 with a 4.25o% coupon, to yield 4.375%, in line with 4.375% area guidance. Demand hit $750m, according to bankers managing the sale. There was a mix of US and European accounts that was about 60% private banking. Bankers on the deal boast that the completion speaks to the quality of the issuer, and that having a shorter maturity worked in its favor. BNP, Banco do Brasil, Bradesco and UBS managed the deal. The sale comes after the Brazilian bank owned by Grupo Votorantim (51%) and Banco do Brasil (49%) raised $750m in Tier 2 bonds last month.
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Copeinca Sets Peru Bait for Foreign Investors
Peruvian corporates should be able tap foreign bond investors, according to fishmeal exporter Corporacion Pesquera Inca (Copeinca), which placed last week a well-received $175m 2017 bond. “There had not been a corporate issue from Peru in about 4 years. So perhaps this issue can help other companies take out debt,” Copeinca CFO Eduardo Castro tells LatinFinance. “Investors perceived Peru as a very strong emerging economy,” he adds. Copeinca wanted to refinance a $185m 2012 syndicated loan and the Peru local market is only absorbing $50m-$70m equivalent issues at 3-5 years, says Castro. He adds that it is improving steadily, and should support $100m equivalent deals by 2011. Copeinca is the second largest Peruvian fishmeal producer, a sector that saw a lot of pre-crisis M&A. “Right now we don’t see a lot of opportunity for further acquisitions, given that the prices for fishmeal are very high,” Castro says, noting that his company has spent 2008-2009 digesting prior acquisitions. In Tuesday’s bond deal, Castro notes the markets turned more favorable this week after Greece-driven investor worries dissipated. He says the fishery was pleased with the investor response, and notes that about 20% of the book went to Asia, which was included on the roadshow as about 70% of exports go to that region. US investors bought 50% and European 30%. The BB minus bond priced inside guidance at 9.125%, via Credit Suisse and Santander.
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BdB Accelerates Dollar Lending
Banco do Brasil (BdB) is making a concerted effort to step up long-dated dollar lending to domestic and non-Brazilian corporate clients. The move is rattling foreign banks active in Brazilian syndicated and bilateral lending. BdB and other Brazilian banks have nabbed sizable market share by offering local clients relatively cheap loans at attractive tenors. In 2009, BdB’s deployment of pre-export credit to companies surged 6x, albeit from a low base, to $3.1bn, according to Admilson Monteiro Garcia, head of the bank’s international division. That figure could jump above $5bn this year, he adds. “In the second half of last year, there were 6 pre-export loans done in Brazil and we participated in all of them,” adds the banker. The strategy of offering clients dollar loans – which also include shorter dated export credits called ACCs and ACEs – marks a significant departure for BdB, which has historically focused exclusively on BRL-denominated loans. Total dollar lending at BdB grew marginally in 2009 to $14.0bn, up from $13.5bn in 2008, though longer dated pre-exports accounted for a larger portion of the pie in 2009 than the previous year. Among deals BdB has participated in recently are Fibria, Cosan and Odebrecht’s twin platforms. For iron ore miner Samarco, the bank swallowed whole a $300m 5-year trade credit line late last year. This torpedoed competitive bids from foreign banks eager to lend to the high quality credit. Monteiro tells LatinFinance that the credit crunch actually boosted the state-owned bank’s liquidity position as global lenders and corporate depositors migrated to quality institutions, such as BdB. “This extra liquidity came to us at a time when we wanted to create anti-cyclical movement [to lend in Brazil,]” he says. The banker notes corporate dollar lending from international banks was drying up and companies were in need of dollar lines. “This [growth in lending by BdB] won’t stop in 2010,” says Monteiro, who claims his bank’s share of the do
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Correction: Nextel Peru Dials A/B Loan
A February 4 brief entitled “Nextel Peru Dials A/B Loan,” misspells the name of a participating bank. The correct spelling is Banco BIF.
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Costa Rica Election Seen Market Neutral
Laura Chinchilla, presidential candidate for Costa Rica’s ruling party, the Partido de Liberacion Nacional, could win the country’s presidential elections on February 7. A CID-Gallup poll shows she has almost 42% of the vote. Barclays believes the election will possibly go into a second round, but says this should not “roil the markets” as she will likely be projected to win by an ample margin. It recommends a neutral position on Costa Rica assets. Another economist who does not want to be identified says that the election results will be “a non-event from the market’s perspective.” He adds that regardless of who wins the elections, no material change in policy is expected. Barclays adds that for 2010, it expects economic growth of 2.9%, versus a 1.4% contraction in 2009, driven mostly by a rebound from the very low level of economic activity in 2009 and slightly better external demand.
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UBS Adds in DCM, Sales
UBS has hired ex-Citi banker Carlos Corona for its LatAm DCM team and Rod Eichler, ex-RBS, for its EM debt, currency and derivatives sales group, according to an official at the bank. Corona started this week as executive director and senior originator on the DCM team reporting to Mark Tuttle. He was previously with the LatAm loans group at Citi. Eichler will join the debt, currency and derivatives sales group in April, reporting to David Cannon.
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CS Builds EM Council
Credit Suisse is forming an internal council for EM. Among other things, it will promote EM within the bank, according to officials at the shop. The move will involve heads of business lines, including investment banking and country heads. Local reports surfaced Thursday suggesting Antonio Quintella, CEO of Brazil, has been named head of EM, but bank executives familiar with the process say that is not correct, and that he, as well as several other heads of EM countries, will be part of the committee. A spokeswoman declines to comment.
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IMF Comes Through for Jamaica
The IMF has approved a 27-month $1.27bn stand-by agreement (SBA) for Jamaica, of which $640m will be made available immediately to establish a financial stability support fund. The funds aim to support Jamaica’s reform program to address deep-seated structural weaknesses in the economy, increase its growth potential, and make it less vulnerable to external shocks, says the IMF. The SBA is expected to generate about $1.10bn in finding from other international financial institutions. In addition, Jamaica closed Wednesday a JAD700bn ($7.86bn) exchange offer to holders of 350 different classes of domestic securities, with final results due out next week that are expected to show an acceptance rate of over 95%, according to an official familiar with the process. Burdened with costly interest rates, the government offered holders a par exchange for bonds with lower interest rates and longer maturities. The maturity extension should be an average 2.5 years, with interest rates lowered from an average of 18%-19% to 12%, according to ratings agency and sell-side analysis. The government claims the operation will save JMD40bn annually in interest payments. Citi managed the process.