Tax amnesty lures Argentine oil firms to bond market

Compañía General de Combustibles, Vista Energy and YPF, three of Argentina’s biggest oil and natural gas producers, will sell bonds in the local market this week in the wake of a deal by Pampa Energía that snared a low interest rate on strong demand from investors for US dollar-denominated securities.

Pampa issued $84 million worth of four-year bonds last week, pricing them at 5.75%. While the amount raised fell short of the deal’s $100 million maximum, it surpassed the $50 million minimum, a sign of the strong demand from investors after the first month of a tax amnesty.

The government is allowing people to declare $100,000 without penalties under the amnesty, with the additional benefit of wiping clean any prior tax dodging.

The amnesty is helping to boost the country’s foreign currency reserves, which reached $29.2 billion on Thursday, up from a most recent low of $26.9 billion in mid September and the highest since July, according to data from the central bank.

At the same time, the government has refrained from selling bonds to capture the dollars from the amnesty, which is proving a boon for private borrowers.

“We want those dollars to finance the private sector so that the capital markets can develop and there will be more investment and the creation of quality employment,” Economy Minister Luis Caputo said Thursday on X. “The purpose of the amnesty is not to collect money but to reactivate the economy and private investment.”

LOW YIELDS

Caputo said Pampa’s bond sale is one such example. The 5.75% rate it achieved in the deal is “even lower than what it could get in the external market,” he said. “This is precisely what we want.”

In September, Pampa raised $410 million in the international market with the sale of 2031 notes yielding 8.25% to refinance 7.5% bonds due 2027.

YPF, the state-run energy company, will be the next to hit the market. It plans to raise $150 million in a sale of four-year notes denominated in dollars on Monday, beginning the offer at $100 million and using the proceeds for investments, refinancing debts and working capital, according to a securities filing.

On Tuesday, Vista Energy will seek to raise up to $150 million in a sale of seven-year dollar notes, starting the offer at $75 million, while CGC will offer up to $70 million of three-year notes, beginning the offer at $30 million.