Brazil

Latin America DCM bankers are gearing up for a calmer period in primary bond markets as first quarter earnings blackout periods near, after two companies jumped on an improving tone at the end of last week to sell rare Friday deals.

Brazilian airline Gol on Thursday sold the first public bond deal from a Latin American airline since the coronavirus pandemic began, increasing the size of a tap of its 8% 2026s as hopes grow that the vaccine rollout will accelerate in the region and enable the worst affected industries to recover.

Gol, Brazil’s largest airline, is looking to reopen a private placement sold in December with the aim of making it a public benchmark this week. As it looks to double the size of the 8% June 2026 bond from $200m to $400m, Gol told investors at its roadshow presentation that it expected the yield on the tap to be around 8%.

Latin America’s sustainability-linked bond (SLB) market is taking on a life of its own as issuers warm to the structure and tailor it to their own needs. Brazilian cosmetics company Natura was one such company to do just that this week, veering away from the standard 25bp coupon step-up on its SLB debut.

Brazilian cement maker Votorantim Cimentos’ CFO said that the company would prioritise sustainability-linked structures in its future fundraising, after it sold a domestic SLB in March that used linked the call price — rather than the coupon — to key performance indicators (KPIs).

The world’s largest wheel manufacturer, Iochpe-Maxion, on Tuesday became the fourth Latin American issuer in four business days to issue a sustainability-linked bond (SLB). The Brazilian issuer sold a $400m seven year deal with an apparently more ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reduction target than the one set by Mexican car parts supplier Metalsa on its own SLB last week.

Brazilian cosmetics group Natura sold a sustainability-linked bond (SLB) on Monday offering an exceptionally high coupon step-up of 65bp if it does not meet sustainability targets. Though the greater increase was to compensate for the shorter time between the potential step-up and maturity than on most SLBs, it succeeded in grabbing the attention of EM bond buyers.

Brazilian cosmetics group Natura on Wednesday became the third Latin America company this week to announce plans to issue sustainability-linked bonds, joining Mexicans Femsa and Metalsa in the pipeline.

LatAm bankers and investors say a strong issuance window for non-Brazilian credits has opened, as political and fiscal concerns take their toll in Latin America’s largest economy.

Bond bankers say new issuance from Latin America is unlikely to pick up until after Easter, even though they believe the technical dynamics in the market remain favourable for issuers.

Minerva and Marfrig, the Brazilian meatpacking rivals, said on Monday that they would prepay dollar bonds as part of continued efforts to reduce leverage.

Faltering momentum in Latin American bond issuance has put this year's unprecedented surge of green and sustainable deals on pause. But even if volatility persists, as global bond markets deal with rising US interest rates, LatAm issuers will not only maintain their focus on ESG, but they may find sustainability credentials are more valuable than ever.