Arias, Fábrega & Fábrega represented Banco General, S.A., as arranger and as sole underwriter in the US$130 million registered bonds offering by Hydro Caisán, S.A. for the construction financing of the El Alto run-of-the-river hydroelectric project in the Chiriquí province, Republic of Panama. The bonds, which will be issued in a single series, have been registered with the Superintendency of Capital Markets and listed  on the Panama's Stock Exchange.

The bonds are secured by a trust constituted by Hydro Caisán, as settlor, and BG Trust, Inc., as trustee.  Under the trust agreement and other security documents, Hydro Caisán has transferred to or constituted a lien in favor of the trustee on substantially all of the project’s assets, since the transaction followed a project finance structure.  Some assets will be encumbered in favor or transferred to the trustee at a later date as disclosed in the offering documents.

In addition to the above,  Panama Power Holdings, Inc., the holding company of the issuer, also pledged its shares on the issuer in favor of the trustee and issued a corporate guaranty in both cases to secure and guarantee the timely payment of the bonds.

Construction of Hydro Caisán's 67.2MW El Alto hydroelectric plant in Panama is scheduled for completion in April 2013. Hydro Caisán already holds a 10-year power purchase agreement with distributors Ensa and Edemet that will begin July 1, 2013.

As a region, Latin America has a very high potential for hydropower generation. El Alto represents one of the largest hydroelectric projects being developed by Panamanian investors.