LATAM Business Watch · Wednesday, 11 November 2026 · 5-minute read

Good morning. Colombia weighs a US$15B IMF line, the real sinks to a 15-month low, Mexico’s stocks hit a record while its inflation climbs, a Chilean bank sells US$108M of perpetual bonds, and Argentina’s takeovers get a gatekeeper.

Let’s get into it.

Five Things to Know

1. Colombia reportedly eyes a US$15B IMF line. Bloomberg, republished by La República on 9-10 November and citing unnamed sources, says Bogotá is negotiating an IMF stand-by program and plans to draw on it; the decision is not final, and the deficit is projected at 9.4% of GDP in 2027 without adjustment (La República). Why it matters: an IMF backstop would calm sovereign risk, but anyone pricing Colombian debt, real estate or infrastructure should wait for terms and for the rescue bill’s tax changes.
2. The real closes at its weakest in 15 months. The dollar rose about 1.46% to R$5.586 on 10 November, after hot US inflation and bets on a Fed hike, Imirante and InvestNews report.
3. Mexican inflation hits a five-month high. INEGI put October headline inflation at 3.75% year on year, up from 3.45% and the highest since May, above the 3.65% consensus (Zeta Tijuana, 9 November).
4. Banco BICE sells US$108M of perpetuals. The Chilean bank placed UF 2.5 million of AT1 bonds at 3.93% on 10 November, with demand 3.25 times the amount offered (Diario Financiero).
5. Argentina adds a merger-control gate. Mandatory pre-closing approval applies from next Monday for deals above a US$100M combined turnover threshold, with a fast track for low-risk deals (La Nación, 10 November).

Today’s deep dive: Costa Rica’s Ciudad Gobierno Lease: How to Underwrite It

Markets Snapshot

• USD/BRL: R$5.586, +1.46% on 10 November; Ibovespa 171,337, down 0.52% (Imirante).
• USD/MXN: 18.62, +0.43%; S&P/BMV IPC 71,893.88, +0.05%, a record close, and up 2.44% over five sessions (Infobae/EFE; Rio Times).
• USD/COP: market close 3,299.00 on 10 November; the official TRM rose to 3,269.88 from 3,237.83 (Noticias RCN).
• Context: the dollar is up 2.60% against the real over the first six November sessions, after a 5.20% rise in October; the Ibovespa is still about 16% below its 23 October level (Rio Times).

No snapshot card today: other currency and index closes (Chile, Argentina, Peru) lacked a dated source we could verify, so we left them out.

Private Markets Pulse

• Fundraising: Mexican PE firm Discovery Americas is readying its fifth Mexico fund and says local pension funds (Afores) have already committed; size not visible (LatinFinance, 8 November).
• DFI money: BTG Pactual’s Chilean unit is seeking its first IFC deal to fund hospital construction, and Santander Chile is asking IDB Invest for an A/B loan for affordable-housing mortgages; amounts not visible (LatinFinance; LatinFinance).
• Project finance: Colombia landed an IDB energy loan meant to lift power output and let the government trim energy subsidies (LatinFinance, 8 November).
• Debt markets: CAF priced bonds in Colombia’s local market, ending a 17-year absence, and utility ESSA also priced (LatinFinance, 8 November).

Macro Radar

• US · CPI: October prices rose 0.4% on the month and core 0.3%; no annual rate was published, and the next CPI is 10 December (BLS, 10 November). Private-markets angle: sticky core keeps dollar funding costs high for LatAm credit and project finance.
• Mexico · Inflation: core inflation was 3.80% against a 3.78% consensus (INEGI via Zeta Tijuana, 9 November). Private-markets angle: less room for more Banxico cuts pressures valuations of peso-linked real-asset vehicles.
• Peru · Inflation: October inflation was 5.25% year on year, above a 4.9% forecast; Scotiabank expects the central bank to hold at 4.25% on 12 November (Scotiabank). Private-markets angle: higher hurdle rates for local infrastructure and property; our read, not a forecast.
• Chile · Outlook: Scotiabank still expects a 25bp hike in December and another in Q1 2027 (Scotiabank, 6 November). Private-markets angle: a hiking cycle in a soft economy is a poor backdrop for exits.

Deal Flow

M&A

• Salmones Blumar is in talks to sell its salmon business to Agrosuper, Chile, at a US$540M enterprise value, non-binding bar exclusivity (Diario Financiero, 4 November).
• Linzor Capital has mandated Santander to sell dental chain UnoSalud, Chile, reportedly for about US$80M (Diario Financiero, 6 November).

Venture & Growth

• Colombian retail-software firm Celes raised a US$5M Series A led by SP Ventures to expand in Mexico and Brazil.

Real Estate & Funds

• Santos Brasil filed a roughly R$3.5B terminal expansion proposal, Brazil; nothing approved yet.
• Secuoya Content Group plans a US$340M Bogotá production hub, Colombia, announced 8 November.
• Klabin and an undisclosed investor form a Paraná forest venture, Brazil; the investor contributes R$1.2B in cash, pending approval.
• Four bidders made binding offers for Santiago’s Isidora 3000 complex, Chile; price undisclosed.

Distressed

• Colombian publisher Legis entered reorganization in October, with 2025 liabilities of COP 22,292M against revenue of COP 24,657M.

Around the Region

• Brazil: Petrobras’s board approved a R$15.3B shareholder payout, about 12% below August’s, paid in February and March 2027 (Rio Times).
• Colombia: a car-dealer group warns the fiscal rescue bill would lift VAT on hybrids and EVs from 5% to 19% (La República); separately, a proposal to sell about 8.5% of Ecopetrol is only a proposal, and the union rejects it (Bloomberg Línea).
• Peru: the optimized Peru-China free trade agreement protocol is reported in force since 1 November (Andina).
• Panama: a US$260M Chiriquí port project is contested as the Supreme Court reviews its environmental approval (La República).
• Dominican Republic: Accor has signed or lined up 23 hotel projects, about 6,000 rooms, with no investment value stated (Press Perú).

Costa Rica Corner

• ICE plans roughly US$200M for seven solar plants totalling 170 MW in Puntarenas (Infobae, 10-11 November).
• The January-September fuel import bill reached US$2,267M, up 44.8%, and the central bank projects US$3,086M for 2026 (Tico Times, 9 November).
• Sugef rule 5-26 requires banks to alert clients to account movements within a minute and use two-factor authentication on risky transactions (CRHoy, 9 November).

Number of the Day

US$76.2B

That is the investment committed to Argentina’s 27 approved RIGI projects, of which about US$7.7B, roughly 10%, had been executed by September (Infobae, 8 November).

On the Calendar

• Today: Mexico September industrial production and Brazil September services volume (Scotiabank).
• Thursday: Peru’s central bank rate decision (policy rate 4.25%) and Brazil’s October IPCA inflation (Scotiabank forecasts 4.6% year on year).
• Friday: Brazil September retail sales, Colombia September retail and industrial data, and US producer prices.
• Monday: Brazil’s September IBC-Br activity index.
• Tuesday: Colombia Q3 GDP (prior 3.5% year on year).

The Water Cooler

A strong dollar is sorting the region: Mexico’s stocks hit a record despite rising inflation, while Brazil’s real slides and Colombia reportedly shops for an IMF cushion. Our read, not a forecast: fiscal credibility is the trade for now.

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Data as of 11 November 2026. Items reflect public reports on the dates shown; deal terms are as reported by the sources and may change. This is general market commentary, not investment advice.