Argentina in ‘breakthrough’ offer to end debt battle

Argentina has offered $6.5bn to settle a battle with creditors suing the country over defaulted bonds, seeking to end a long-running row that has hampered the country’s access to international capital. Friday’s offer was made after talks in New York with hedge funds and other creditors who had previously demanded full repayment of about $9bn […]

Argentina has offered $6.5bn to settle a battle with creditors suing the country over defaulted bonds, seeking to end a long-running row that has hampered the country’s access to international capital.
Friday’s offer was made after talks in New York with hedge funds and other creditors who had previously demanded full repayment of about $9bn worth of bonds the country defaulted on 15 years ago.
Two out of six major holdout creditors have already accepted the deal, which includes about a 25 percent “haircut” on their claims, while four have not done so yet, according to the government.
Daniel Pollack, the US court-appointed mediator, hailed Argentina’s proposal as an “historic breakthrough”.
He said that if the offer is accepted and all the conditions are met, Argentina will be able “to return to the global financial markets to raise much-needed capital”.
The latest twist in a fight stemming from Argentina’s record default on around $100bn in 2002 came less than two months after President Mauricio Macri took office and expressed his commitment to a deal.
If Macri manages to clinch an agreement, Argentina will be able to emerge from default and return to global capital markets to finance badly-needed infrastructure projects such as new roads and railways.