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Market participants need to focus on the relevance of information, and not just information for its own sake.

Mexico will issue its first 30-year peso-denominated bond in Q4, reflecting renewed confidence in the Mexican economy. Initially an auction of Ps1 billion ($92 million) is planned.

When asked what vexes him most in his dealings with investment bankers, Fabio Barbosa, CFO of Brazilian mining company Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), takes a few moments to think. He is certainly in a good position to offer an opinion. His company’s $1 billion 2016 bond was the largest ever Brazilian corporate issuance in the global capital markets; it has been able to issue cheaper debt than the sovereign; it comes to market regularly and leverages its global reputation and investment-grade rating to achieve extremely aggressive pricing on its bonds.

The latest GDP figures from China make startling reading. First-half 2006 GDP grew 10.9%, with second-quarter growth accelerating to 11.2%, the fastest pace since 2003 when China’s economy last overheated. The news has reignited concerns that China’s economy is out of control.

Despite a downturn in emerging markets, Latin American companies are eager to tap the developing hybrid securities market to raise money to recapitalize their balance sheets without affecting their credit ratings or causing equity dilution.

Norway’s export credit agency, Eksportfinans, was the first issuer to take advantage of the Russian government’s decision to make the rouble fully convertible from July 1, selling a R1.5 billion ($558 million) rouble-linked Eurobond less than a week later.

Transelectrica is the country’s first utility to IPO.

G8 debt relief package will not constrain issuance plans.

Lebanon has announced plans to borrow as much as $7 billion by the end of this year as it struggles to reduce interest costs on its debt. According to Moody’s Investors Service, Lebanon’s gross debt had reached 727% of government revenue by the end of 2005, the highest level of any rated country.

By Zach Fuchs

The development of Latin America’s local capital markets continues apace following the first bond issue by a multilateral organization in Venezuela in 30 years. The bond, worth B215 billion ($100 million) and with a five-year maturity, was launched last month by CAF, the Andean development bank. It is the biggest non-government bond issued in Venezuela.

Almost non-existent a decade ago, Peru’s capital markets have flourished over the past five years, with the government and big companies such as US copper miner Phelps Dodge finding ample demand for bonds. Now the new government of president Alan García, which took office on July 28, aims to develop the markets further. There are plans to allow smaller companies to raise cash, develop a secondary mortgage market to unleash new funds to redevelop slums, and encourage pension funds to invest in productive industries, not just in sovereign bonds. “Deepening the local market in soles is going to be one of the pillars of our economic policy,” says García’s chief economic aide, Enrique Cornejo. “Our resources aren’t being put to work via the markets.” The barriers to smaller Peruvian businesses are daunting. Because many companies cannot meet the listing requirements of the Bolsa de Valores de Lima, Peru has launched only four initial public offerings with a total value of $40 million in the past 15 years, despite strong economic growth. The business sector is severely undercapitalized, with a total of $7.5 billion in debts, or around 10% of Peru’s GDP. A change in that situation is crucial to Peru’s long-term development, as small and medium-size companies generate 40% of GDP and three-quarters of all jobs in the country. However, these companies’ financing costs are up to 2.5 times those of big corporations.