June 14, 2006
CAF issues $100M in Bolivar-denominated bonds in Venezuela

(MarketWatch) -"The Corporación Andina de Fomento or CAF, an Andean development bank, has issued 215 billion bolivars ($100 million) of five-year bonds in Venezuela, the first such local debt sale in 30 years, the CAF said.

The bond issue is second in size only to government sales of public debt in Venezuela, the CAF said in a statement.

The offer was handled by Citibank Mercado de Capitales, part of Citibank's Venezuela unit, and sold to banks and other large institutional investors, the statement noted.

CAF officials couldn't immediately be reached for further comment.

The latest issue is the first a multilateral lender has placed in Venezuela since 1976, according to the statement, and is part of a two-year program with the Andean country that amounts to VEB450 billion ($209.3 million), according to CAF.

Earlier this year CAF officials announced plans to issue as much as $150 million in local debt in Peru, Colombia and Venezuela as a way to boost activity in the local capital markets".