Panama Taps Morgan Stanley to
Sell Bonds Through Fund
By Drew Benson and Veronica Navarro Espinosa
(Bloomberg) - Panama hired Morgan Stanley to
sell $95.9 million of bonds due in 2036
through a state development fund after
pulling the transaction in December,
according to a filing with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission.
The country scrapped a plan to sell $760
million of bonds due in 2036, 2027 and 2034
through the development fund in December
after the offer sparked a rout in the
country’s debt. The fund, which holds the
government bonds as assets in its portfolio,
has sold this year more than $500 million of
securities due in 2027 and 2034.
The fund’s sale comes a week after the
Central American country’s credit rating was
raised to investment grade by Fitch Ratings.
Fitch lifted Panama’s foreign- and
local-currency debt to BBB-, the lowest
investment-grade level, with a positive
outlook, citing low debt levels and a
resilient economy.
The yield on the 6.7 percent notes due in
2036 has fallen to 6.1 percent from 6.28
percent on Jan. 1, according to Bloomberg
data.
Panama included documentation today from a
previous shelf filing that had authorized it
to sell the bonds. Dario Espinosa, the
sub-director for public credit at the
Finance Ministry, said in a telephone
interview that the government has no plans
to issue bonds in international markets in
the “near future.”
The country plans to slash its public debt
to 35 percent of gross domestic product from
45 percent by 2014 as collections from the
upgraded Panama Canal rise to $5 billion a
year from about $2 billion, Finance Minister
Alberto Vallarino said at a conference in
Panama City March 24. |
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