Mexico puts yen bond sale on radar screen

Mexico has a possible yen bond sale on its "radar screen" as it looks to pre-fund for 2016, Alejandro Diaz, the country's head of public credit, told IFR on Thursday.

After tapping both the dollar and euro markets earlier this year, the sovereign now has a yen deal in its sights after staying clear of the Japanese market for some 15 months.

"We don't have a time frame, but (a yen bond) is likely to be on the cards," said Diaz on the sidelines of the IMF meetings in Lima, Peru.

Mexico was last in the Japanese market in July 2014, when it sold a US$600m equivalent three-tranche bond offering, including a new 20-year issue - the sovereign's first ever Samurai with a tenor of this length.

"We can see if there additional interest in that type of long tenor," Diaz said. "That would be a positive sign of our presence in that market."

The oil-rich country has capped international debt issuance in its 2016 budget at US$6bn - in line with this year's needs - after adjusting spending in response to the drop in crude prices.