As rates stabilise and currencies appreciate, the debt capital markets are back in full force. This session considers the potential for Latin America’s bond markets:

• Why should some investors choose to tap the debt capital markets rather than syndicated loans? 

• What are the respective merits of the local vs international capital markets?

• How do 144As compare to private placements in terms of liquidity and terms?

To kick off the export finance portion of this event, we invite US EXIM’s leadership to update you on the organisation’s strategic priorities for the year, including:

• The Make More in America (MMiA) initiative

• Maintaining competitiveness in an evolving market

• New initiatives to look out for

We’ve seen 30% Year on Year growth in the Latin American digital infrastructure market, with more and more investors setting their sights on data centers, towers, and fibre. This session considers:

• Analysing the evolving investment landscape for digital infrastructure across the region
• Examining the emerging trends around data centers. What are the most attractive Latin American destinations, who are the key players, what are the risks?
• Anticipating the impact of global hyperscalers expanding their regional footprint
• What impact do regional electricity constraints and power shortages have on project development perspectives?

Given the introduction of the Inflation Reduction Act, US government entities are increasingly important in energy projects across the country. This session considers:

• The role that the Departments of Energy and Agriculture have to play in US export finance moving forward#
• What's the Canadian government outlook for investment in the Americas?
• The increasing opportunities for ECA finance in the US
• How banks and borrowers should work with US and Canadian agencies to make the most of the new opportunities

Brazil is one of the most exciting countries in Latin America when it comes to investment prospects. This session hones in on the country, considering: 

• What should investors and developers be aware of when entering into one of the region’s most robust economies?

• What role has BNDES played in project development over the past year, and what more should we expect to see from them? 

• What role do the domestic capital markets play in financing Brazilian projects?

• We consider the success of FPSOs in the region, as well as logistics and dollarised PPAs

ECAs remain a vital part of the funding mix for projects in the Americas. This session gathers some of the region’s most active agencies to consider:

• What innovative initiatives are our ECAs offering? 

• What successes have they had with untied products? 

• How do sustainability goals impact how ECAs operate in the Americas?

If we are truly committed to the energy transition, then we need to significantly improve battery storage deployment across the region. This session considers why this important, and how we can finance more projects in the space: -Will battery storage help to solve grid management issues?

• To what extent is technology risk preventing investment in the sector?
• Examining emerging business models around battery storage: merchant vs capacity payments
• Are local, regional, and international banks familiar enough with batteries in a Latin American context?
• Given recent successes in Chile with battery storage as a mitigation tool for transmission woes, what other regions offer the best opportunity to implement these strategies?
• Understanding battery storage project asset lifecycles, evaluating repowering costs

We’ve heard from the ECAs, and now it’s time to hear from their customers. Are the initiatives we’ve just discussed working, and what more do exporters need?

• Where do our exporters see the biggest opportunities in the Americas? Which countries are the most exciting export destinations?

• How would increased ECA flexibility, such as the availability of untied products, support exporters in the Americas?

• How are geopolitical shifts across the region impacting exporters in the Americas?

Even as attention shifts to new technologies, wind and solar projects remain a vital puzzle piece when it comes to energy transition in the Americas. This session considers:

• Will corporate PPAs play a big role in the future of the Latin American renewables market? How are they structured? Who are the leading and emerging offtakers?
• Are DFI’s crowding out commercial lending and capital markets when it comes to providing debt? How will the situation develop?
• How do project financiers distribute risk across renewables panels?
• Examining the success of BESS projects in LatAm. Which destinations stand to benefit from the battery boom next? What regulatory frameworks are needed to accelerate deployment?

The private insurance market has an important role to play in deals across the Americas. This panel gathers product users and providers to discuss:

• What are our banks’ experiences with the insurance product, and what feedback do they have for providers?

• How can the private insurance market collaborate with ECAs, and where have we seen this succeed?

• Where can DFIs support the private insurance market?

Despite the DiscoPPA crisis of 2022, the Chilean renewables sector seems stronger than ever. In this session, we will discuss financing mechanisms and investment opportunities of the booming industry.

• Examining key recent deals in solar, storage and wind

• Risk rundown: evaluating curtailment, marginal costs of zero, and location-based risk, as well as other traditional renewable development risks

• Analysing the current state of the PMGD market

• Discussing the implications of the 2024 regulated tender

• Anticipating electricity market reforms, especially as pertaining to transmission and distribution

• To what extent will the proliferation of green and sustainability linked bonds drive project deployment?

• What’s next for the renewables industry in Chile? Can Chile leapfrog to capitalise on any emerging technologies?

• Evaluating Chilean renewables M&A

The role that critical minerals have to play in the energy transition is, well, critical. This session considers how we can bolster support for mining in the Americas, and what financing will be needed to get there:

• What supporting infrastructure is needed to propel Latin America’s mining industry? 

• Posco Lithium won 2023’s Americas Deal of the Year Award - what can be learned from this transaction? 

• What role do ECAs have to play in the development of critical minerals projects?