The Inter-American Development Bank announced the issue of its first bond denominated in Brazilian currency, a zero coupon issue of 550 million reais (approximately $189 million) that matures on May 11, 2009.
It was issued in the form of a registered global bond; it settles in U.S. Dollars and will be listed in the London Stock Exchange. This bond issue, which has selling restrictions in Brazil, is targeted to satisfy the international institutional demand for Brazilian reais assets.
Barclays Capital Inc. is the lead manager of the issue, which was priced at 50.07 percent.
This was the second bond issue by the IDB in a Latin American currency under its Global Debt Program. In early April the Bank issued its first global bond denominated in Mexican pesos, the first operation for the IDB in a Latin American currency.
This new transaction, which was very well received by the market, opens new avenues of diversification for the IDB’s borrowing program. The bond issuance was swapped into U.S. dollars and will be used to help finance the IDB’s lending program for the economic and social development of Latin America and the Caribbean.
IDB’s Borrowing Program for 2004 is expected to be up to $6 billion.