Buenos Aires (AFP)
The Argentine government announced on Tuesday that it had reached an agreement with its creditors for the restructuring of $ 66 billion in debt.
Argentina has reached an agreement with the three groups of creditors who have so far refused its offer, which constitutes "a significant relief" for the country, the Argentine Ministry of Economy said in a statement, while the date limit of negotiations was set for Tuesday 9:00 p.m. GMT.
"Argentina will adjust certain payment dates" from the government's original offer, which involves payments in January and not March of each year as originally planned, the statement said.
The three groups of creditors - Exchange Bondholders, Ad Hoc and Argentina Creditor Committee - had refused at the end of July the latest proposal from the government of President Alberto Fernandez for this restructuring.
Discussions, underway since April 20, concerned bonds dating from 2005 and 2010, products of a previous restructuring, as well as new securities issued from 2016.
Buenos Aires notably proposed to pay $ 53.5 in recovery for every $ 100 of the face value of the bonds. Creditors demand $ 56.5.
The new agreement provides for the collection by creditors of more than $ 54 per 100, and improves payment times, an official source told AFP.
Argentina's total debt stands at $ 324 billion, or 90% of GDP.
Argentina's economy has been in recession since 2018 and will suffer even more this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with an announced contraction of 9.9% of Gross Domestic Product, according to the latest forecasts from the International Monetary Fund.
© 2020 AFP