Debt besieged Argentina and new negotiations with creditors

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said his government will present on Sunday a “new offer” to its creditors to reach an agreement allowing for a $ 66 billion debt restructuring and an extension of negotiations until the end of August.

“The new proposal that will be announced today will be open until the end of August. We are making an enormous effort,” he added.

The negotiations, which started on April 20, have been extended several times, and were scheduled to end on July 24, but the government extended them until August 28 to reach an agreement.

Three groups of creditors negotiating with Argentina regretted the rescheduling of $ 66 billion in debt at the end of June “in the absence of a serious commitment” by Buenos Aires “to avoid the repercussions of a long default.”

Negotiations deal with bonds dating back to 2005 and 2010 that resulted from a previous rescheduling, in addition to new financial bonds issued as of 2016. The first offer was made in May, but was rejected by most creditors, stipulated a three-year payment period and reduced 62 percent of interest and 5.4 Percent of the principal.

According to a government source, the official offer rose to “about $ 53” for every hundred dollars, while the previous offer was $ 39 per hundred dollars.

Argentina had been in default since 22 May, and on that date had had to pay interest of $ 500 million on three bond issues being negotiated. But the negotiation continues, though.

Alberto Fernandez confirmed that the negotiations are “in an advanced stage”. The Argentine government’s proposal must first be published in the Official Gazette and then presented to the New York Stock Exchange and Securities Commission.

But the government’s margin of maneuvering has narrowed, with the Argentine economy stagnating since 2018, poverty reaching 35 percent, recording inflation of 53 percent in 2019, as well as the repercussions of the Covid-19 epidemic.

The President condemned the conditions accepted by the government of his predecessor Maurizio Macri, and said, “If we analyze all this rationally, (we will find that we) are not asking creditors to lose, but rather to stop collecting additional profit.”

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