El Salvador to Issue Bitcoin Bond; Venezuela to Tax Crypto, Dollar Deals

Bloomberg Línea — El Salvador’s government bitcoin bond (XBN) for $1 billion will be placed on the international financial markets between March 15 and 20 of this year, the country’s Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya said.

Venezuela will introduce a new tax for transactions in dollars and crypto-assets from March 1. The tax reform approved by the government majority National Assembly seeks, according to its explanatory memorandum, to strengthen the use of the national currency, the bolivar, and also to increase tax collection.

On the region’s stock markets, Peru’s S&P/BVL Peru (SPBLPGPT) had the best day in the region on Wednesday, rising by 1.30%, riding the momentum it received Tuesday following the announcement by Compañía de Minas Buenaventura (BUENAVC1) to sell its entire stake in the Yanacocha and La Zanja gold mines. The deal closed at $450 million. Share performance was also boosted by the presentation of President Pedro Castillo’s new cabinet on Tuesday night, his fourth cabinet since taking office last July.

Following is a roundup of Wednesday’s news from Bloomberg Línea and Bloomberg reporters across Latin America.

Argentina

• Argentina had the worst economic performance in the last decade among eight countries in the region that were part of an analysis conducted by the Institute of International Finance. The IIF report compared real GDP growth in Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay, Colombia, Chile and Peru, and Argentina was the only country to register an economic decline, with a 3% drop between the third quarter of 2011 and the same period of 2021.
• Real estate transactions increased by 58% in the province of Buenos Aires in 2021, compared with 2020, totaling 88,170 deals.
• Over the last 12 months, logistics costs in the country increased 45.9%, according to a report by the country’s national technology university.

Brazil

• Inflation will be President Jair Bolsonaro’s worst enemy in this year’s elections, according to a Genial/Quaest poll released on Wednesday, as four out of five voters disapprove of the way the president is dealing with inflation (80%).

• Brazil’s antitrust body CADE approved, with restrictions, the sale of Oi’s mobile telephony assets to Claro, TIM and Vivo. The three competitors will have to guarantee access to the infrastructure by other companies in the sector.

Chile

• Economists and the Finance Ministry attribute Chile’s surprise rise in inflation to a combination of global factors, as the pandemic caused a supply chain disruption, and local factors, such as high household liquidity.
• The three rounds of early withdrawals of pension funds injected close to $50 billion into the Chilean economy.

Colombia

• Colombia’s President Iván Duque, who is six months away from leaving office, began a trip to Europe on Wednesday with the purpose of strengthening trade ties and investment relations.
• More than 6.9 million changes of operator while keeping the same cell phone number were made last year in Colombia, the largest number of changes recorded since the mobile number portability measure was implemented.
• Colombian startup Sumer, founded by former Rappi executives, raised $5.7 million in a seed round in which 8VC, Susa Ventures and Marathon Ventures were the main participants, and which also included Canary, Mantis Venture Capital, Clocktower Technology Ventures and Alter Venture Partners.

Ecuador

• Ecuador will no longer be indebted to China and will make public the free trade negotiations, President Guillermo Lasso said, and who added that the “dark” moment in bilateral relations was inherited from former President Rafael Correa but has now been overcome.
• The government’s ambition to double oil production is being stymied after a last instance sentence prevented oil activities in one of the areas with the largest oil reserves in the country.

El Salvador

• El Salvador’s government bitcoin bond (XBN) for $1 billion will be placed on the international financial markets between March 15 and 20 of this year, the country’s Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya said.

Mexico

• Mexico’s annual inflation slowed less than expected in January, from near a 20-year high, as the central bank evaluates another interest rate hike under new governor Victoria Rodriguez Ceja.
• The United States government respects Mexico’s sovereignty, but seeks an open and competitive energy market, White House Special Presidential Climate Envoy John Kerry said during his visit to Mexico. “What we want to do is work with Mexico to reinforce the possibility of an open, competitive market,” the official said during a joint message with Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard.

Panama

• Fitch Ratings has changed the outlook for Panamanian infrastructure issuers to “stable”. After affirming Panama’s rating and improving its outlook, the agency also affirmed the ratings of ENA Master Trust and Ena Norte Trust.

Venezuela

• Venezuela will introduce a new tax for transactions in dollars and crypto-assets from March 1. The tax reform approved by the government majority National Assembly seeks, according to its explanatory memorandum, to strengthen the use of the national currency, the bolivar, and also to increase tax collection.

This is how the region’s markets closed on Wednesday, February 9: