The Panamanian government issued $550 million of sovereign debt in the international market, expiring in 2050 and with an average yield of 4.92%.
According to information from the country's authorities, the resources collected will be used to partially finance the investment plan contemplated in the General State Budget for fiscal year 2018.
The Sanchez-Ceren administration plans to issue $800 million in debt securities to repay obligations that will expire next year and another $1.407 million to complement the 2019 national budget.
The Ministry of Finance presented to the Congress next year's Budget project, which includes, among other aspects, adjustments to the fiscal deficit that the government will register next year.
Up to August, the external and internal public debt amounted to $18.463 billion, equivalent to 23.4% of the country's Gross Domestic Product.
According to figures from the Ministry of Public Finance, in the last nine years the debt to GDP ratio has slightly varied, between 23.3% and 24.8%.
Regarding the country's indebtedness level, Abelardo Medina, senior economist at the Central American Institute of Fiscal Studies, said to Dca.gob.gt that "... It is interesting to note that, although Guatemala reports the lowest level of debt in the region and one of the lowest in the world, the evaluation given by risk rating agencies does not reach investment level. This is a product of political instability but, especially, it is due to the limited size of its fiscal revenues."
Explained in part by doubts about the economic future in the short term, in Costa Rica credit granted to companies and individuals went from growing at an annual rate of 8% in January to 4% in June of this year.
According to figures from the Central Bank of Costa Rica, in the first six months of the year credit to the private sector has reported a clear downward trend, since in January the amount registered amounted to $34.072 billion and the increase compared to the same month in 2017 was 7.9%.
The Ministry of Finance issued Treasury bonds in local currency for an amount equivalent to $38 million, receiving total demand of $90 million.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance:
September 25, 2018. The results of the sale of Treasury Bonds of the Republic of Guatemala represented by Account Annotation (Public Bidding); and of Representative Physical Certificates and Representative Certificates Electronically Registered in Custody of Banco de Guatemala (Auction and Public Bidding) held on September 25, 2018, with a total demand of Q.694.95 million and US $30 million, are the following:
The Central Bank explained that the short-term loan of almost $870 million to the Ministry of Finance will have no impact on inflation.
From a statement issued by the Central Bank of Costa Rica:
September 25, 2018.In accordance with what is authorized by Costa Rican legislation, the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR) agreed, on Tuesday, September 25, 2018, to the acquisition of Treasury Notes, issuedby the Ministry of Finance, for an amount of ¢498,858.8 million.
In Panama, the Varela administration has submitted a bill that aims to raise the limit of public debt by $900 million more than the limit currently established.
The Minister of Economy and Finance, Eyda Varela de Chinchilla, presented a bill to the National Assembly to amend Law 34 on Fiscal Social Responsibility and Law 38 of 2012.
At the end of the second quarter of the year, the country reported that the total external debt amounted to $11.728 billion, an amount that exceeds by 1.9% what was recorded at the end of 2017.
Nicaragua's total external debt totaled 11.728 billion dollars, of which 6.0832 billion corresponds to the private sector and 5.6448 billion to the public sector.Total external debt increased by 175.7 million dollars (1.5%), compared to the first quarter of 2018, reported the Central Bank of Nicaragua.
The increase in domestic debt with terms of less than one year and the growing rise in interest rates are some of the threats that Costa Rica's public finances continue to face.
According to the 2017 Annual Report by the General Comptroller of the Republic, between 2016 and 2017 the percentage of domestic debt with a term of less than one year increased from 15% to 18%, the variable rate rose from 12% to 20%, and the interest rate in dollars grew from 19% to 24%.
Between July 2017 and the same month this year, the country reported a 5.4% increase in the balance of its total external debt, rising from $8.229 billion to $8.674 billion in July.
The Central Bank of Honduras reports that at the end of July 2018, the balance of total external debt (public and private) was US $8.6739 billion, evidencing an increase of US $101.1 million with respect to the amount registered up to December 2017 (US $8.5728 billion), mainly explained by the net use (disbursements minus amortizations) of US $138.3 million, which is partially offset by a favorable exchange variation of US $37.2 million.
In Costa Rica, the Ministry of Finance has announced that in the remainder of the year, it will need to capture close to $2.8 million from the local stock market.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance:
The new tax reform proposal being discussed in Costa Rica raises capital gains tax from 8% to 15%, and also excludes recognising as a debt deposits made by issuers in the securities market.
In the view of the National Stock Exchange (BNV), not recognizing deposits made in the stock market as debt leaves it at a clear disadvantage, compared to banks, as a source of financing for companies.Not only does it compromise access to investors' savings, it also significantly limits companies and individuals investment options.
In Panama, the portfolio managed by brokerage firms totaled $35,577 million at the end of the first half of the year, 11% more than was registered in the same period in 2017.
According to the Superintendency of the Securities Market, of the total portfolio, 43% correspond to bonds, another 27% of the assets belong to common shares, and 21% is made up of other securities.
The Ministry of Finance in Costa Rica has announced that between today and August 3 it will try to raise, through means of a direct issue in the local stock market, about $879 million.
Authorities reported that two issues of securities will be offered for sale on the Siopel platform of the National Stock Exchange.The first, of $284 million, will have a gross rate of 9% with maturity in 2020, and the second of $595 million, with a gross rate of 10.79% with maturity in 2028.
The government of the Caribbean country issued $1.3 billion in the international market for a term of 10 years and an interest rate of 6%.
This is the second issue that the Dominican Republic has made in the international market, as in the month of February it issued $1 billion for a term of 30 years and a rate of 6.5%, and another of $822 million for a 5 year term and a rate of 8.9%.
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