CAF places third bond issue in Bolivars

(Caracas, March 22, 2007).- CAF announced its third bond issue in Venezuela in less than a year. This time the offering was for 127.50 billion bolivars (59.3 million dollars) with maturity in 2012.

The offering is the third series of Issue 2006 approved by the Venezuelan National Securities Commission (CNV) for a total of 450 billion bolivars. The first series was made in June 2006 for 215 billion bolivars and the second in February 2007 for 107.5 billion bolivars. This transaction confirms the Corporation’s commitment to the development of capital markets in the region, particularly Venezuela. CAF President & CEO Enrique García said "we are pleased with the success of these operations and we appreciate the backing received from local investors and government authorities." He added "with these issues CAF is fostering the participation of other international organizations in the Venezuelan capital market."

It is worth mentioning that CAF made the first issue in this market by a multilateral organization – since 1976 – and has now returned with three placements in the last year.

In an earlier interview, CAF’s CFO, Hugo Sarmiento, had asserted that the plan to strengthen the local debt markets would come to a close in the first quarter of 2007. He also stated that the Corporation plans to issue bonds for up to 1 billion dollars this year versus the 809 million dollars placed in 2006. A portion of these issues will be targeted towards domestic Latin-American markets, such as Venezuela, Peru, and Colombia.