Codelco issues 10-yr and 30-yr bonds amid copper price slump
SANTIAGO – Chile's State copper miner Codelco has issued 10- and 30-year dollar-denominated bonds, according to IFR, Refinitiv’s capital markets news service, as it seeks to press on with an overhaul of its mines even as a trade war has pummeled copper prices.
The bonds were issued in New York with price guidance of 150 basis points and 180 basis points over equivalent US Treasuries, IFR said, and were due to be priced later on Monday.
The sale of the new paper was being handled by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, HSBC, JPMorgan and Scotiabank, IFR said.
In August Codelco sold bonds for a combined $180-million and offloaded a minority stake in natural gas port terminal GNL Mejillones for $193.5 million.
The miner, which produces nearly 10% of the world’s copper, returns all its profits to the state and is funded by a mix of capitalisation and debt.
In April, chairman Juan Benavides told Reuters Codelco was sufficiently capitalized after issuance of $1.3-billion in 30-year bonds in January to be able to fund its $40-billion mines overhaul.
However, Chile's economy has been hit by a fall in the copper price that makes up as much as 15% of its GDP, and Codelco's operations have been further hampered by labor strife as poor weather hit production at its northern mines.
The firm saw profits plunge 74% to $318-million in the first half of 2019.
Last week, Codelco's new chief executive Octavio Araneda told staff that he believed copper prices would remain depressed through next year due to global trade tensions, and urged workers to help counter the negative bias by becoming more productive.
A spokesman for Codelco, which has a debt rating of A3/A+, told Reuters the company would make a statement on the latest bond issue later on Monday.
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