Gov’t mulling GO bond sale

After two years of staying away from such transactions, the Commonwealth is considering a sale of general obligation bonds sometime in 2011 to finance infrastructure projects, Government Development Bank President Carlos García said Tuesday.

While the government official did not say when the sale would take place or how much the agency is looking to raise, García told Bloomberg the administration’s plans also call for selling as much as $2.1 billion in other types of bonds next year.

By definition, GO bonds are municipal papers backed by the issuer’s “taxing power” rather than the revenue it may have available for the project it is looking to finance. GO bonds do not require collateral.

S&P classifies Puerto Rico’s GO bonds as “BBB-,” one notch above junk, effectively keeping the island from selling bonds. The last time the government carried out a GO bond sale was in  September 2008, when the Acevedo Vilá administration raised $250 million.

For version in Spanish, see http://sincomillas.blogspot.com

Detalles del autor

• Detalles del autor

Michelle Kantrow-Vázquez

Detalles del autor

Reportero de negocios con 30 años de experiencia escribiendo para periódicos semanales y diarios, así como para publicaciones especializadas en Puerto Rico. Entre mis antiguos empleadores se encuentran Caribbean Business, The San Juan Star y Puerto Rico Daily Sun, entre otros. Mis áreas de especialización incluyen las telecomunicaciones, la tecnología, el comercio minorista, la agricultura, el turismo, la banca y la mayoría de los demás segmentos de la economía de Puerto Rico.

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