Caribbean

AES Dominicana, the Dominican power generation company that is 85% owned by AES Corp, began investor calls on Monday ahead of a proposed $300m bond that will mostly be used to fund a tender offer for bonds maturing in 2026.

The International Monetary Fund said in the concluding statement of last week’s Article IV mission to Belize that the government needs to restructure its debts to restore public debt sustainability, leaving bondholders bracing for a fifth credit event since 2007.

The Dominican Republic raised $2.5bn across two tranches amid an improving tone in EM bond markets on Wednesday, providing an encouraging sign to the several Latin American credits expected to price before the week is over.

As year-end approaches and investors look for a breather, Latin America’s regular issuers usually spend December preparing for the traditional January funding round. But two of the region’s most prolific borrowers could not resist the historically low funding costs on offer this week, tapping existing bonds to buy back shorter-dated paper.

The Dominican Republic refinanced the bulk of its 2021 bond maturities on Monday with a tap of its 12 year bonds that took international issuance from Latin American sovereigns to record annual volumes.

The Commonwealth of the Bahamas raised $225m of 12 year money on Wednesday, taking advantage of a strong rally in its most recently issued bonds to tap markets 125bp inside where it did less than two months ago.

The Dominican Republic is planning to take advantage of strong market conditions and tap its 2032 bonds to finance a buyback of four different dollar notes maturing between 2021 and 2025.

Chilean copper mining company Antofagasta, the longest continuously listed company on the London Stock Exchange, clinched its first international bond on Thursday as Latin American bond markets continued their recovery from recent wobbles.

The Commonwealth of the Bahamas set initial price thoughts on a new 12 year bond on Wednesday. The deal is set to test demand for riskier emerging market credit. Pricing is expected on Thursday.

The Commonwealth of the Bahamas could tap bond markets later this week to fund budgetary spending, GlobalCapital understands.

The Dominican Republic will begin virtual meetings with fixed income investors on Tuesday as it contemplates issuing in both dollars and pesos.

The government of Bermuda turned to bond markets for the first time since November 2018 on Monday, raising $1.35bn of new notes to repay debt and fund fiscal spending including Covid-19 measures.