Colombia

Carlos Vargas, most recently a managing director in Mizhuo’s Latin American debt capital markets team, has joined Oppenheimer & Co also as a managing director covering Lat Am DCM, GlobalCapital understands.

Seven Latin American companies announced borrowing plans this week, looking to issue before fourth quarter numbers go stale even as market conditions are far from ideal.

Transportadora de Gas Internacional (TGI), the Colombian natural gas transportation company, has mandated banks ahead of a proposed $750m senior unsecured issue aimed at refinancing existing bonds.

Colombia’s bonds have hardly moved in secondaries since Moody’s placed its Baa2 rating on negative outlook last week, although the sovereign’s debt had already widened heavily over the last few weeks.

Canada-listed oil and gas company Gran Tierra Energy, which has the majority of its operations in Colombia, is planning a debut 144A/Reg S bond offering which will come due in 2025, the company said.

Carlos Vargas, managing director in Latin American DCM at Mizuho Securities USA, has left the bank, GlobalCapital understands.

Rutas al Mar, the toll road being built between Colombia’s Antioquia and Bolivar states, became the third concessionaire in the country’s 4G infrastructure project to issue bonds last week.

Colombian asset prices hardly budged this week after Standard & Poor’s brought the South American sovereign — once an EM darling — within one notch of junk status.

South American sovereign Colombia is just one notch above junk status with Standard & Poor’s after weaker than expected growth took its toll on government finances.

Colombian toll road project Rutas al Mar is looking to meet investors ahead of a potential local currency bond transaction, according to DCM bankers, in what would be the third issuance from the country’s flagship 4G road-building programme.

Colombia’s finance ministry has turned to a former employee to run the public credit office after the previous chief funding official resigned last week.

Argentine lender Banco Hipotecario and Colombian utility EPM sold local currency deals on the international market this week but market participants said a limited buyer base is restricting momentum in these types of trades.