(Bloomberg) -- Chile tapped debt markets with a social bond, one of the first sales by emerging-market sovereigns in what’s expected to be a slower second half of the year after a flurry of activity in early 2024. 

The South American nation sold 1.6 billion euros ($1.7 billion) of notes due in 2031 at a spread of 105 basis points over mid-swaps, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified. That compares with the initial price talk of around 130 basis points.

The benchmark bond sale attracted bids of more than 4.4 billion euros, the person said.

“The size of the issuance was a bit of a surprise, but the transaction is in line with Chile’s goals to diversify its bond offerings,” said William Snead, an analyst at Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA in New York.

Chile’s bonds are slightly up across the curve on Tuesday, according to indicative pricing data collected by Bloomberg.

Government and corporate borrowers in developing markets issued $321 billion of debt in the busiest first half of a year since 2021, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. expect sales to slow more than usual going forward as political risk is likely to fuel volatility.

Chile last tapped global debt markets back in January, when it sold $1.7 billion of notes due in 5 years at a spread of 85 basis points over similar US Treasuries. That sale had represented the entire dollar issuance targeted for the year.

Read: Chile Bond Sale to Tempt Government to Scrap Three-Week-Old Plan

Bookrunners on Tuesday’s deal were Bank of America, HSBC, JPMorgan and Societe Generale.

--With assistance from Colin Keatinge and Zijia Song.

(Updates with deal pricing in second paragraph.)

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