Lowly issuers make the grade Uruguay has defied the ratings agencies with a successful 30-year bond issue, write Benedict Mander and Jennifer Hughes LONDON 1ST EDITION

Five times oversubscribed, Uruguay's initial offering of Dollars 300m was bumped up to Dollars 500m to take advantage of overwhelming demand that coincided with the lowest spreads that Uruguay has seen in 15 years. "Our image as a serious country that pays its debts is very important to us...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Financial times (London ed.)
Main Author JENNIFER HUGHES and BENEDICT MANDER
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London (UK) The Financial Times Limited 07.04.2006
Subjects
Bond issues
Emerging markets
Sovereign debt
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Summary:Five times oversubscribed, Uruguay's initial offering of Dollars 300m was bumped up to Dollars 500m to take advantage of overwhelming demand that coincided with the lowest spreads that Uruguay has seen in 15 years. "Our image as a serious country that pays its debts is very important to us," said Mr Astori. "Uruguay is a country that is greatly respected all over the world. We never fail to fulfil our obligations," he said, adding with a mischievous smile that sometimes Uruguay is compared favourably with "certain neighbours" whose sovereign debt record is not so clean. "Uruguay still has a high level of debt, even though financing is not a major constraint in the short run," said Sebastian Briozzo, Standard & Poor's sovereign ratings analyst for Uruguay. "But as long as the fiscal situation stays in order, there are reassuring prospects for the medium term," he said, adding that theeconomic team is doing a "good job".
ISSN:0307-1766