Latin America DCM issuance conspicuous by its absence

First it was fear of the Fed, then it was volatility from the war in Ukraine that kept Latin America’s issuers on the sidelines in 2022. But as March progressed, markets began rallying following the increase in US rates and as volatility from the outbreak of war began to subside. The commodity-heavy and geographically distant region is a potential haven for emerging market (EM) investors, but bankers were still waiting for a corporate or sovereign brave enough to reopen the market.

There were hopes that Klabin, a Brazilian pulp and paper manufacturer, would include issuance of new bonds in its liability management exercise that it wrapped up on March 21.