Colombia

Investors saw Colombia’s decision to hit international bond markets on the day a national strike was planned as a statement of intent. But concerns over social unrest, or indeed a challenging fiscal outlook, paled into insignificance as yield hungry investors took the chance to buy into what remains an economic outperformer in Latin America.

Colombia made its usual January bond market outing on Tuesday, unperturbed by protests across the country and capturing strong demand despite some indications of worry about the long-term fiscal picture.

Colombian holding company Grupo Aval could return to bond markets for the first time in eight years after mandating banks to manage investor meetings.

Generation company Termocandelaria Power Limited (TPL) returned to capital markets on Thursday to start Colombian bond issuance for the year. The sovereign is expected to follow suit soon.

Colombia’s largest lender Bancolombia said it wants return to bond markets to finance a buy-back of a senior bond maturing in 18 months.

Termocandelaria Power Limited, the Colombian generation company, is seeking to add up to $200m to its existing bonds and has mandated two banks to lead the reopening.

Another Latin American borrower was set to price dollar deals this week as GlobalCapital went to press, as smaller issuers took a rare opportunity to hold the full attention of investors.

Bonds issued by Avianca traded up this week after the Colombian airline completed the final stage of a complex restructuring, effectively giving it permission to push out a looming bond maturity by three years.

Colombian lender Bancolombia made a late year dash to international markets on Tuesday as it sold Basel III-compliant subordinated notes to fund the buy-back of old style tier two bonds.

Colombian airline Avianca has finally completed negotiations with existing creditors, allowing it to wrap up a much-anticipated $250m loan from United Airlines and Kingsland Holdings as well as $125m in financing from new investors.

Colombia’s largest lender, Bancolombia, became the second Latin America bank in two days to announce new issue plans on Tuesday. Similar deals could follow, say DCM bankers.

Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogotá (ETB), the Colombian telecoms company majority owned by the City of Bogotá, is looking to buy back up to Ps400tr ($120m) of its global local currency bonds.