LatinNews Daily - 23 November 2020

* Chile’s finance ministry has issued the country’s first ever “social bonds”, for a total of US$2.1bn, through a simultaneous offer on local and international markets. In line with the Social Bond Principles published by the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA), the bonds are debt instruments that finance or refinance social projects, and will be used to support households, education, essential health services, and programmes designed to alleviate the impacts of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, according to a finance ministry press release. The peso-denominated bonds are set to mature in 2028 (US$1.37bn) and 2033 (US$739m), with interest rates of 2.5% and 3.4% respectively, while demand was 3.1 times oversubscribed. Of the total, 48% of bonds were adjudicated to foreign investors. Last year, Chile was the first country in the Americas to issue ‘green bonds’. These are debt instruments that fund or refinance initiatives for climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as environmental protection. It currently has two euro-denominated and two dollar-denominated green bonds. As of 3 November, Chile had issued a total of some US$6.2bn in green bonds.

End of preview - This article contains approximately 188 words.

Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article

Not a Subscriber?

Choose from one of the following options

• Subscribe
• Sign up for a one-time, 14-day trial