The Central American Bank for Economic Integration approved a line of credit for the Honduran government to finance the Resilient Housing Reconstruction Program in the country.
The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) informed that it is estimated that approximately 29,500 vulnerable families in the departments of Cortés, Atlántida, Yoro and Santa Bárbara will benefit from the rehabilitation, reconstruction or construction of new housing.
During February 8 and 9, the Ministry of Finance was able to renegotiate close to $130 million corresponding to maturities of domestic debt securities for the years 2021 and 2022.
This is the first exchange of domestic debt in colones to take place in 2021.
Arguing that the pandemic has had a negative effect on the local economy and Panamanian public finances, Fitch Ratings downgraded the country's sovereign rating from BBB to BBB-.
Regarding forecasts for 2021, the rating agency expects Panama to experience an economic recovery with a real growth of 9.2%, driven by the economic opening, public investment projects such as the construction of Metro Line 3, exports from the copper mine, and the recovery of domestic consumption. This growth trend is expected to be maintained by 2022, informed the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Panama (MEF).
During the auction held on February 1, 2021, the placement of domestic debt securities in local currency amounted to the equivalent of $210 million and in dollars to $115 million.
Through this mechanism, ¢129,667 million ($210.5 million) in Domestic Debt Securities Fixed Rate Colones and Sovereign Adjustable Real Domestic Debt Securities were allocated, informed the Ministry of Finance.
Given the agreement reached by the Alvarado administration and the IMF for Costa Rica to access a $1.75 billion loan, the business sector is calling for a reduction in public spending and for detailed information on the scope of the agreement signed by both parties.
In an attempt to ease the fiscal and economic crisis the country is going through, last year the Alvarado administration began negotiations to access a loan for $1.75 billion to be requested from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Central American country placed in the international market $1.25 billion at a rate of 2.2% expiring in 2032 and $1.2 billion at a rate of 3.4% expiring in 2060.
Panama ventured today into the international capital markets through the reopening of Global Bonds expiring in 2032 and 2060 for an amount of $2.45 billion, as part of the financing plan for fiscal year 2021, informed the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF).
The IMF approved a two-year agreement in favor of the Central American country under the Precautionary and Liquidity Line for an amount equivalent to $2.7 billion, which will serve as insurance against extreme external shocks derived from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Access to the LPL in the first year will be in an amount equivalent to about $1.35 billion.
The agile execution of economic stimulus programs, the considerable increase in public debt and the need to accelerate the process of economic reactivation are the lights, shadows and challenges identified a year after Alejandro Giammattei took office as president of Guatemala.
The Inter-American Development Bank approved a line of credit that the Panamanian government will use to finance the second Program to Support Reforms in the Energy and Water and Sanitation Sectors.
The program aims to contribute to the sustainability of the energy sector, as well as to the increase in coverage and improvement in the management of drinking water and sanitation services, through a series of policy reforms aimed at strengthening and complementing the regulatory and institutional framework of both sectors, the international organization reported.
The Central American Bank for Economic Integration approved a line of credit for the country to finance the Project for the Expansion of the Drinking Water Supply System in the City of Gracias, department of Lempira.
The project consists of developing the hydraulic infrastructure necessary to increase the quality and quantity of water supplied by the supply system of the city of Gracias, Lempira, which currently has average interruption periods of 168 hours, reported the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI).
After the multi-sector dialogue in Costa Rica was concluded, the main risk qualifiers agree that because the agreements signed to reduce the deficit are not enough, the government should execute its fiscal policies in a timely manner.
Although Costa Rica's fiscal situation was already precarious before the health and economic crisis that led to the covid-19 outbreak began, the scenario started to worsen since March of this year.
Arguing that due to the pandemic the current revenues of the General Government have been significantly reduced, Standard and Poor's downgraded Panama's sovereign rating from BBB+ to BBB.
The increase in total debt interest payments as a proportion of the General Government's current revenues is another factor that the rating agency considered when lowering Panama's rating.
In the context of the economic crisis generated by the covid-19 outbreak, the CABEI approved a line of credit that the Panamanian government will use to finance the general state budget and programs for health protection, education and food security.
The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) approved $250 million as part of the Development Policy Operations Program (DPO) to the Republic of Panama to financially support the country's economic recovery, the financial agency reported.
Through a competitive auction of domestic debt securities denominated in Colones, on November 9 the Costa Rican government issued the equivalent of $106 million in the primary market maturing in 2024, $81 million in 2026 and $27 million in 2031.
With this allocation the Treasury reached 80.6% of the maximum amount of issuance for ¢1.8 billion, announced last August 25, during the presentation of the debt plan for the second half of the year, the authorities informed.
The Costa Rican government is facing a complex scenario, since by not achieving consensus to access international loans, it will be forced to seek domestic funding sources, which would put pressure on the exchange rate and interest rates to rise.
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