Pemex To Sell $750 Million Securities For Investment Needs

Mexico's state oil company plans to sell as much as $750 million worth of securities to the country's pension funds this year as foreign interest wanes in Latin American debt.

Petroleos Mexicanos Finance Director Juan Jose Suarez said the oil monopoly may sell bonds with maturities of up to 20 years that will be tied to Mexico's inflation rate or other peso- denominated securities.

``They may be concerned about placing everything they want in dollars given the state of the marketplace,'' said Robert Koenigsberger, who helps manage about $130 million in emerging market debt at Gramercy Advisors LLC. ``At some point the market gets saturated with Mexican securities and you can reach that point quickly.''

Argentina's December default on $95 billion of bonds, a devaluation in Uruguay in June and declining confidence that Brazil can keep up with its debt payments are hurting demand for Latin American debt, forcing Mexico to pay higher interest on its bonds.

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