Pemex facing competition from private companies
By Ana Isabel Martinez and David Alire Garcia
MEXICO CITY, Oct 3 (Reuters) – Mexican state oil company Pemex has issued $4 billion in bonds and repurchased debt worth $1.5 billion as part of a plan to strengthen its finances, Chief Financial Officer Juan Pablo Newman said on Monday.
Struggling with major losses stemming from lower oil prices and less production, rising debt and budget cuts, Pemex is also facing competition from private oil companies since the government ended its 75-year oil and gas monopoly in 2013.
Newman told reporters in Mexico City the two bonds worth $2 billion each would have maturities of seven and almost 31 years, paying yields of 4.62 per cent and 6.75 per cent, respectively. The company also swapped $1.6 billion in debt, he added.
“This strengthens our finances and the financial structure of the company,” Newman said.
The $1.5 billion in debt being repurchased had been due to mature in 2018 and 2019. Newman said by boosting the maturity of the debt, the company was making its debt portfolio less risky.
The company’s debt would rise by some $2.5 billion as a result of the operation, and the funds would be used for Pemex’s 2017 financing plan, the CFO said. Total financial debt at the end of 2016 would be some $97 billion, he noted.
The financial operation began on Sept. 13, and closed on Monday. The bonds were 2.2 times oversubscribed, Pemex said.
The banks who handled the operation were Barclays Capital, Citigroup, HSBC, MUFG and Natixis, Pemex said.
Newman reiterated that Pemex’s next business plan will be unveiled before the end of 2016 and include assets the company would like to sell. He did not give further details.
At the end of June 2016, Pemex had total liabilities of almost $185 billion, and financial debt of $96.2 billion.
(Reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez and David Alire Garcia; Editing by Paul Simao and Lisa Shumaker)
