Trinidad and Tobago has successfully completed a $1 billion sovereign bond issuance in the United States market, marking the nation’s largest bond transaction in a decade and signaling renewed investor confidence in the twin-island republic.
Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo attributed the successful offering to improved investor sentiment following a three-day roadshow that began January 16. The roadshow, which included both in-person meetings in New York and virtual sessions, saw strong participation from international fixed income investors.
At the market opening on January 22nd, joint bookrunners JP Morgan and Bank of America recommended proceeding with the benchmark transaction after the orderbook rapidly filled with large orders from institutional accounts. The government announced guidance at noon, and by shortly after 12:00 pm, had received over 140 orders from top-tier accounts, allowing them to close the book with favorable terms.
The transaction achieved pricing approximately 54.6 basis points tighter than the sovereign’s previous $1 billion bond issued in 2016. The improved terms reflect both compressed spreads for initial price talks and pricing that came in favorable to benchmarks and prevailing emerging market levels.
Minister Tancoo described the offering as validation of the government’s credit fundamentals and new disciplined policy framework. The substantial oversubscription despite Trinidad and Tobago’s BBB- (negative) rating from S&P and Ba2 (negative) from Moody’s demonstrates sustained investor confidence and improved risk perception.
Proceeds from the bond will be used to pay consideration for a tender offer on existing 4.50% notes due in 2026, cover accrued and unpaid interest on those notes, and fund general budgetary purposes. The transaction also addresses an August 2026 external bond maturity of $1 billion and extends the country’s external debt maturity profile from an average of 4.1 years to 6.3 years.
The bonds will be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and governed by New York law. Interest payments will be made semi-annually each January 28 and July 28, beginning July 28, 2026. The bonds include a make-whole call provision with a three-month par call option.
The transaction involved a roster of international financial and legal advisors, including J.P. Morgan as development finance structuring agent, A&O Shearman as international legal counsel, ACERO CAPITAL Inc as financial advisor, BNY Mellon as trustee, and GBSC as information and depository agent.
The issuance represents the largest orderbook for Trinidad and Tobago in the past five years, reaching $2.4 billion despite the two negative rating outlooks from major credit agencies. The diverse investor base and high-quality participation underscore what Minister Tancoo described as “increasingly favorable terms” for continued engagement with global capital markets.