Editor's Letter
Dear Reader,
Climate change has been in the news for a long, long time.
And for just as long, heavy industries have taken a lot of flak for their high levels of carbon dioxide emissions.
Until recently.
There has been a shift in attitude from shunning big polluters to helping them finance their cleanups in the race against climate change.
We explore this emerging world of transition finance in our cover story. The greening of heavy industries – as well as agriculture, buildings, power and transportation – could be a major new source of growth in financing. Ivan Canu captures this need for decarbonization – and the financing opportunities – on our cover with an allusion to Andy Warhol’s flower paintings.
We also take a look at another big story: when will the capital markets turn the corner after nearly two years of hard times. It may not be too long yet, as one analyst put it: “We’re getting closer to the end of this mourning phase.”
Until then, there are still investment opportunities in the sovereign bond market. Hernán Goicochea explores which LatAm sovereigns are faring well – and why – and which are the bright spots.
Rodrigo Amaral looks at the rise of catastrophe bonds and swaps in the region following a deal that gained Chile $630 million in financial protection from earthquakes and tsunamis. Thierry Ogier finds out that Brazil’s capital markets are looking up again after a long drought of issues. Mexico is also looking more promising, even after a few asset seizures and the nationalization of the lithium industry, Rodrigo Alonso Cruz discovers. And Venezuela? Mat Youkee explores when the country could restructure its debts. Some holders of the distressed debt are betting that it will be sooner than expected, but that may be wishful thinking.
In our Parting Shot, former Brazilian Finance Minister Maílson da Nóbrega discusses the need for improved management of public finances in the region and looks at other challenges like high inflation.
The outlook may not yet be totally clear, but it does look brighter – and hopefully a whole lot cleaner.
Best wishes and thank you to our loyal subscribers, old and new, who continue to support the independent journalism at LatinFinance.
Be well and keep reading,
Charles Newbery