Chile is once again tapping international bond markets with a deal that hinges on lower greenhouse gas emissions and the number of women on company boards.
The South American nation is offering sustainability-linked bonds due in 2037 and denominated in Chilean pesos, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak about it. The new debt is expected to price as early as Thursday, and initial discussions suggest a yield in the high 5% area, the person said.
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The payable interest rate on the new notes stands to increase by either 15 or 30 basis points starting in May 2034 unless Chile meets certain thresholds connected to carbon dioxide emissions and the percentage of women on company boards.
Bank of America, Citigroup Inc., Itau BBA and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are running the deal.
Chile has already sold about $2.5 billion in peso-denominated debt this year to foreign investors, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The local peso, which rallied 1% on Wednesday, is up some 6% against the US dollar so far in 2023.
Read more: Chilean Peso Extends Gains to 1%, Outperforms EMFX Peers
Local-currency debt issued in foreign markets has picked up in popularity across Latin America in recent months as local currencies outperform and dollar borrowing costs rise. Peru, Uruguay and others have opted for the atypical breed of deals.
Chile also tapped international markets last month to sell a €750 million ($840 million) euro bond and $2.25 billion of dollar debt. Fitch on Wednesday affirmed the country’s foreign-country credit rating at A-, four notches above junk.
(Updates with currency daily move in fifth paragraph and Fitch rating in last paragraph)
