Economy & Business - May 2026

ECUADOR | Return to the bond markets. On 6 May Ecuador’s economy and finance ministry (MEF) announced the successful placement of US$1bn in bonds on the international market. The bonds, which mature in 2034 and 2039, have an average coupon rate of 8.5%. This was Ecuador’s second bond sale since January, when the country ended a seven-year absence from the bond markets with a US$4bn issuance. The MEF highlighted that the average interest rate in the more recent bond auction was around 50 basis points lower than the rate obtained in January’s sale, which it said “demonstrates greater confidence in the Ecuadorean economy from international investors, which is reflected in a reduction in country risk to nearly 400 points, the lowest level reached in the last 11 years”. The MEF said that the bonds were oversubscribed by a factor of seven, compared to a factor of 4.5 in the January bond sale.