AFI issues US$1.3bn in bonds to finance water, infra works

Puerto Rico's infrastructure financing authority AFI issued US$1.3bn in capital appreciation bonds in the US's tax-exempt municipal bond market for infrastructure works, newspaper El Vocero reported. "This issue, apart from generating US$300mn for infrastructure projects, is crucial at this time since it will provide US$310mn for the general fund to cover the budget deficit," Puerto Rican development bank Banco Gubernamental de Fomento (BGF) president William Lockwood was quoted as saying. Of the US$300mn fund for infrastructure projects, US$175mn will be used in developing potable water works and US$125mn will be used in works including highway improvement, AFI executive director Magda Aguiar said. AFI officials were not immediately available to provide further details of the operation when contacted by BNamericas. AFI was created in 1988 and is a subsidiary of BGF. It provides financial and administrative assistance for public corporations and municipalities in the commonwealth of Puerto Rico.