INVESTORS returned to the Latin new issue market with a vengeance this week, as the Republic of Argentina issued a $1bn global bond, the first new bond of any size from any emerging market sovereign since Russia's devaluation. Mexican state oil monopoly Pemex followed with a $600m bond. Both issues were doubled in size, in a clear indication of growing investor confidence in selected emerging market credits. For Argentina, the successful bond confirmed the country's reputation as the most skilful, and sought after, of Latin American sovereign borrowers; Pemex's issue highlighted its status at the top of the region's corporate pile.
November 20, 1998