El Salvador: Delays in VAT RefundsMonday, May 4, 2015 Exporters claim that the Ministry of Finance takes up to 10 months to give credit notes for tax refunds, accumulating a debt of $70 million. To date the Ministry of Finance has issued $41 million in Treasury credit notes (NCTP) to pay off part of the debt. However, representatives from the Corporation of Exporters of El Salvador (Coexport) state that this type of payment represents a loss for exporters, as NCTP's can be sold but wat a discount of up to 5%. Fitch Downgrades Guatemala's Risk NoteFriday, April 3, 2020 Arguing that a lower economic growth and a higher fiscal deficit are expected due to the effects of the covid-19, the agency decided to modify from BB to BB- the country risk rating. The situation of the tax burden in the country is another factor affecting Fitch's decision, which was communicated to the Banco de Guatemala through the preliminary bulletin that the agency sent to the authorities. Threats to Risk RatingTuesday, July 23, 2019 Institutional problems and lower levels of economic growth compared to other countries with the same risk rating, could cause in the future a degradation of Guatemala's debt rating. Although in its last evaluation Moody's decided to keep Guatemala's credit rating at Ba1 with a stable outlook, arguing that the economy reports stable growth, and that a prudent management of monetary and fiscal policy has been made, there are some threats for the rating to degrade. Nicaragua: Risk Rating Continues So FarTuesday, November 12, 2019 Standard & Poor's warned that if in the coming months the political environment worsens or access to local and external financing deteriorates again, the debt note could suffer further deterioration. Eurobonds: Risk Rating ConfirmedMonday, November 11, 2019 Standard & Poor's has given a B+ rating to the $1.5 billion debt issue that Costa Rica expects to place in the international market in November. "Global Ratings today assigned a "B+" rating to the prospective reopening of Costa Rica's notes which have a 7.158% rate maturing in 2045 and a "B+" rating in its planned issuance of notes maturing in 2031, the latter issue still does not have a defined trading rate," the rating agency said on November 8. Tocumen Issues $225 million in DebtMonday, May 7, 2018 The international airport of Panama has issued on the international market a 30-year debt issuance, at an interest rate of 6%. The decision to issue the bonds is in accordance with Tocumen's plans to modernize the air terminal's electrical system, and to build a third runway and the first phase of the logistics area. Honduran Public Finances in CrisisFriday, January 8, 2010 The Honduran Treasury has outstanding debt for $300 million, but has only $8 million available. In light of this situation, Finance Minister Gabriela Núñes warned that the upcoming administration, headed by Porfirio Lobo, must enforce "deep fiscal austerity" and restore relations with the international community, in order to resume external aid. El Salvador's Eurobonds Issue QualifiedThursday, August 1, 2019 After the country issued $1.097 million in Eurobonds for a 30-year term, Moody's gave them a "B3" rating, while Fitch Ratings assigned them a "B". Fitch Ratings has assigned a 'B-' rating to El Salvador's $1.097 million notes due January 2050. The notes have a coupon of 7.1246%, the agency said. Moody's Downgrades Costa Rica's Risk RatingMonday, February 10, 2020 Arguing that the high fiscal deficit is still on an upward trend, the rating agency downgraded the long-term and senior unsecured government bond issuer's note from B1 to B2. Fiscal deficits averaging more than 6% of GDP since 2015 have led to higher public debt/GDP than its 'B'-rated peers, the rating agency said. El Salvador: Moody's Improves Risk OutlookFriday, March 13, 2020 The rating agency kept the country's debt rating at B3, but decided to change the outlook from stable to positive, arguing that the government's liquidity risks have been substantially reduced. The affirmation of El Salvador's B3 sovereign ratings reflects high public debt ratios and a growing interest burden, the rating agency said. Panama Issues $1 Billion in DebtMonday, April 22, 2019 The Panamanian government issued debt securities in the local market at a 3.75% interest rate, with a seven-year term. It is the first time that international investors agree to the purchase of a treasury note Baa1/BBB/BBB issued under Panamanian Law and listed on the Panama Stock Exchange, using the Euroclear platform, informed the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), in a statement. The Opinion of Entrepreneurs in El SalvadorMonday, July 6, 2015 The ENADE 2015 survey reveals that 90% of Salvadoran entrepreneurs believe that the country has regressed in its competitiveness compared to other countries in the region. In the view of the private sector, among the factors that have caused a loss of competitiveness for El Salvador are the high levels of crime, political and economic instability, constant changes to laws, lack of competitive infrastructure, and increased taxes. Request for Tax Rise in GuatemalaFriday, June 6, 2014 The president of the Bank of Guatemala has stated that in order to sustain the fiscal debt, the tax burden in the Guatemalan economy will have to rise from 11% today to 14%. An article on Lahora.com.gt reports that, Edgar Barquín president of the Bank of Guatemala, said "... in order to maintain economic stability and ensure social spending for the benefit of the population, the level of taxes needs to rise to 14 percent of GDP this year. Tocumen's Debt Capacity Increases by $100 millionThursday, June 13, 2013 The company which manages the main international airport in Panama now has a borrowing limit of $650 million. From a press release from the Government of Panama: Upward Pressure on Interest Rates in Costa RicaWednesday, February 12, 2014 The Ministry of Finance has announced that this year they plan to increase their borrowing in the domestic market by 46%. The Ministry of Finance announced that for the first six months of this year, they plan to increase their borrowing in the domestic market by 46% compared to the same period in 2013 . "... The Central Government is considering issuing a total of $1.8 billion in the first six months of this year." |
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