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Cristina Fernandez anticipates she will address ‘vulture funds’ issue at G20 summit

Thursday, September 5th 2013 - 02:46 UTC
Full article 44 comments
The Argentine president said ‘vulture funds take advantage of everyone” The Argentine president said ‘vulture funds take advantage of everyone”

After arriving in Russia for the two-day G20 summit, Argentine President Cristina Fernández stressed she will be addressing the “vulture funds issue” during the summit despite the US rejected to mention it in the final statement.

“Vulture funds take advantage of everyone, not only Argentina” she told reporters adding Argentina will discuss “employment creation, production and investment“ which are ”the elements which will save the global economy amid a context of crisis”.

“I was reading that in Greece the government has allowed the sale of food with expired dates and over a million government staff despite not having been paid for the last year, still go every day to work fearing the loss of jobs”, added the Argentine president.

“These are the things we should talk about and deal with the ‘vulture funds’ which take advantage of countries close to defaulting or indebted as us” insisted Cristina Fernandez. “This has happened to the Greeks and the Spaniards and the Portuguese and in Spain vulture funds also purchased junk sovereign bonds at rock bottom prices and will be asking for full face payment”.

The Argentine leader said Greece is going for its third debt restructuring with ‘shaves’ and yet has been unable to pay, “and to us who have agreed with 93% of bondholders and have been paying regularly since 2005, they want to beat us down”.

“The St Petersburg summit is very special since it takes place at a delicate and serious moment of world affairs, not only because of the economic crisis but also because of the complicated global institutional situation such is security in the Middle East”

The Argentine head of state is expected to hold bilateral meetings with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping.

Secretary General to the presidency Oscar Parrilli also informed Cristina Fernández will be meeting Indian and Japanese leaders Manmohan Singh and Shinzo Abe respectively as well as South African head of state Jacob Zuma in the margins of the multilateral reunion.

With her Chinese counterpart, the Argentine leader will be signing three agreements that aim at strengthening bilateral ties in strategic areas such as economy and food.

Cristina Fernandez will also receive at a special meeting the new chief of the World Trade Organization, Roberto Azevedo.

According to government sources, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner will be taking to the G20 table the official decision to reopen the debt swap (which already has half-approval and is supported by the opposition) –facing a 1.3 billion dollar legal dispute against US-based vulture funds-, calls to reform the international financial system, the fight against tax havens, and the creation of employment as a key element both to face and overcome the global crisis hitting the world since 2008.

Russia occupies this year the rotating chair of G20 and is hosting the St Petersburg summit at the St Constantine Palace. Putin said that the summit agenda will concentrate on uniting efforts to prop global economic growth and promote employment by creating jobs.

 

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  • british bomber

    The rgs are going to get away with defaulting. America should start sanctions against rg land now like Iran.

    Sep 05th, 2013 - 03:09 am 0
  • ElaineB

    As I said when I read this yesterday, CFK was always going to make this all about Argentina. She has admitted Argentina is on the brink of default.

    Not one of the agreements she is signing is of any real significance. Agreements to strengthen talks and trade but nothing solid.

    Sep 05th, 2013 - 05:06 am 0
  • Welsh Wizard

    “Cristina Fernandez anticipates she will address ‘vulture funds’ issue at G20 summit” and none of the decision makers will listen. The courts have made it abundantly clear in their rulings that they are not trying to set a precedent here and that this is a policy decision. Argentina is a regularly in default and on this occasion it went to NY to issue debt so that it could fill its boots whilst paying a lower coupon on the bonds. A vast number of academics and lawyers, having looked at the judgement, have realised that this ruling is not a blueprint for future similar situations. Whether you agree or not with the action taken by the funds, the legal community now realises that Argentina is being punished by the NY courts for it attitude towards restructuring and towards to courts themselves. Argentina is being made an example of because of the way that it has tried to take advantage of a different legal system but not abided by it when required. At the very simplest level this is about benefits and obligations. When a court sees you just trying to gain the benefits of a contract without living up to your obligations they will find against you. It’s called equity. I know that there are arguments to say that the debt was illegal and that once in the country it was misused but that is a non argument akin to a “knowledge of the law” argument. If your previous government was so useless as not to be able to keep track of payments so that they weren’t filtered off then it isn't the investors fault. After all, each country deserves the governments it votes for and whilst this was going on, you had a shocker which you voted for and fully deserved.

    Sep 05th, 2013 - 05:18 am 0
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