The international rating agency Standard and Poors audibly gulped when Prime Minister Dean Barrow said in his election announcement that he would seek "clear instructions" from the electorate "to do something about the superbond."
S and P automatically downgraded Belize saying that it appeared Government would not honor its superbond commitments.
That sent bondholders scrambling, trying to sell off the bond, but an analyst for SCOTIABANK international is advising a wait and see approach.
In a piece called "What did Belize's Prime Minister mean?" he notes that quote "We cannot know for sure what the government is planning in the long-run…Nevertheless, past speeches by government officials about the bonds suggest more willingness-to-pay than the market is currently pricing." End quote. He points also to positive GDP growth and that "the Belizean government insists, at least to foreign investors, that it has every intention of making upcoming coupon payments."
The bond is trading at $45 dollars, 15 dollars less than it was a month ago.
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