Emerging-Market Lending Revives as Bond Sales Reach 2-Year High

By Laura Cochrane
April 3 (Bloomberg) -- Emerging-market governments and companies borrowed more in international bond markets this week than at any time in the past two years as interest costs plunged on optimism the worst of the global recession may be over.
Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich emirate with the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, and nearby Qatar raised a record $3 billion each, pushing sales by developing-nation borrowers to $9.5 billion, the most since June 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. South Africa is considering approaching international bondholders for the first time in nearly two years along with Turkey and Bahrain.
“Most issuers have been locked out of the markets for six months and there’s a very heavy pipeline of bonds waiting,” said Nick Chamie, head of emerging-market research at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto. “Valuations are attractive and the rally has improved the risk tolerance of investors and perceptions around emerging markets.”
Investor confidence has been buoyed by a pledge from the Group of 20 nations yesterday to triple the resources of the International Monetary Fund to $750 billion, after it allocated more than $70 billion to help developing countries avoid defaults during the economic crisis. An easing in IMF lending conditions enticed Mexico to request a $47 billion credit line this week and Poland is among nations likely to follow, according to Barclays Capital and UniCredit SpA reports.
Emerging-market borrowing costs fell to the lowest in more than four months, with yields 6.07 percentage points above U.S. Treasuries, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s EMBI+ index. The spread narrowed 0.02 percentage point today, dropping from a peak of 8.65 percentage points in October.
Persian Gulf
Abu Dhabi and Qatar, the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, led the biggest borrowing push from the Persian Gulf on record, helped by a boost in oil prices to $53.90 a barrel. Abu Dhabi issued $1.5 billion of 5.5 percent five-year notes at a yield 4 percentage points above similar-maturity U.S. Treasuries, and the same amount in 6.75 percent 10-year notes with a spread of 4.2 percentage points.
Investors demanded more than twice the amount sold, said a banker involved in the sale, who declined to be identified because the details are private.
Qatar sold $2 billion of 5-year 5.15 percent notes at a yield spread of 3.4 percentage points and $1 billion of 10-year 6.55 percent bonds at 3.8 percentage points yesterday.
“Risk appetite is returning and people are looking to invest in more established emerging-markets with better liquidity,” said Beat Siegenthaler, chief emerging-markets strategist at TD Securities in London.
Russia to Brazil
Anglo American Plc, the London-based South African mining company, sold $2 billion of bonds yesterday and Hana Bank, South Korea’s fourth-largest lender, issued $1 billion of government- backed debt.
OAO Gazprom, the world’s largest gas provider, borrowed 400 million Swiss francs ($353 million) in the first international bond sale by a Russian company in almost nine months. Odebrecht SA, a Brazilian construction and engineering company, sold $200 million of five-year bonds.