MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Argentina announces ambitious financial program; road show begins Monday in London
Argentina struck an 18-month financing deal worth US$6 billion with six banks on Thursday, Finance Minister Luis Caputo told reporters, saying the government planned to tap international capital markets for US$10 billion in 2017. Sovereign bond issuance will start on Jan. 19, with a sale of US$3 billion to US$5 billion in U.S. dollar-denominated paper. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rules“...peso-denominated debt subject to local law,” is a phrase that would set alarm bells ringing for me.
Jan 13th, 2017 - 06:08 pm - Link - Report abuse +2It appears massive borrowing is the only “accomplishment” of which the Macri government can be proud of.
Jan 13th, 2017 - 08:33 pm - Link - Report abuse -2Never in the past Argentina contracted foreign debt so fast--it has taken $50 billion in one year, more than doubling existing debt. And while taking debt may be justified in many cases, all the Macri government has done is to finance operations, reduce the fiscal deficit and increase the Central Bank reserves.
Meanwhile, the domestic economy has been deteriorating fast, with consumption and production going down.
Add to that a series of corruption denunciations, the last one involving intelligence top guy and Macri's close friend Gustavo Arribas for receiving bribes for $600,000 from construction company Odebrecht.
Everything Macri criticized of the CFK government is now being done, “better” and faster.
Why would anyone be silly enough to lent Argentina anything,
Jan 13th, 2017 - 08:45 pm - Link - Report abuse 0and why start it in London, I thought they disliked us ?
At last I can agree with you Enrique all Argentine politicians are thieves.It is the norm in Latam
Jan 14th, 2017 - 03:10 pm - Link - Report abuse 0reekie is recognising once again that Argentina is screwed no matter which argentines are running it.
Jan 14th, 2017 - 05:16 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@ML
Jan 14th, 2017 - 07:42 pm - Link - Report abuse -1Well Marti, you have tried to walk along a thin line between your disdain for all Latin American things and your initial hopes for a success of the neocon direction of president Macri.
I appreciate you have soon enough realized that Macri is sending Argentina in a downward spiral that can only end in another catastrophic crisis.
However, I do have hopes for recovery under a future government that steers the country on a path of real economic development based on strengthening the domestic market and the local know-how, as opposed to basing all hopes on an alleged “flood of investments” that will never improve anything.
Reekie, you are so consistently mistaken that there is no doubt as to your being argento de corazon. If you were to actually read my earlier comments or get help in understanding what was written, you would discover a rather consistent lack of confidence in any government here that is run by Argentines.
Jan 14th, 2017 - 09:08 pm - Link - Report abuse +1We do note one encouraging sign in the economy and that is the proposed arrival of an assembly plant for small motorbikes designed in India. This is in recognition of the inability of the local industry to successfully fill this niche, which is intended to supply the only real growth industry in the country: the motochorros.
Exactly what do the Argentines manufacture that is not foreign owned? Asado?
Jan 15th, 2017 - 04:29 pm - Link - Report abuse +1Mr EM
Jan 15th, 2017 - 07:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“However, I do have hopes for recovery under a future government that steers the country on a path of real economic development based on strengthening the domestic market and the local know-how, as opposed to basing all hopes on an alleged “flood of investments” that will never improve anything.”
Really, EM?
How do you get economic development if you do not allow investments and do not generate income by exporting products?
“...based on strengthening the domestic market and the local know-how,”
Please tell us how you strengthen the domestic market if you have no foreign investment and jobs for your would-be domestic consumers and your local products are inferior with diminishing markets abroad and even at home?
By the same token, how do you improve “know-how” when you employ the protectionist economic policies that restrict imports and competition?
The Enrique/Evita CFK model removes all incentives and benefits of competition.
EM, You might as well *wish* that things will improve
@golfcronie “...what do the Argentines manufacture that is not foreign owned?.”
Jan 15th, 2017 - 07:45 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Good point. Almost anything substantial manufactured here of decent quality, outside of food items, is either subject to foreign-brand quality control, or tends to be pretty sorry shite, or stupidly expensive. One of my Canadian associates call it “manu-crap-turing.” So things like auto-glass components (not exactly high tech) are built here for assembly into foreign-brand autos and the parts are subject to Asian or European-level quality standards. If you look at national brands for areas like “línea blanca” or domestic appliances, which don't have foreign connections, the products range from just-hideous to something-from-the-sixties. CFK made a big deal a few years ago about the opening of an all-Argentine plant that built kitchen dishwashers to compete with imported brands. To read the hype you'd think that they had suddenly invented something revolutionary rather than a common product built elsewhere for more than 50 years. But despite the degree of protectionism involved, people still tended to buy the higher priced foreign brands. Products of independent national manufacturing sources which are of decent quality tend to be insanely overpriced.
Since it's summer here and I needed a new garden hose, I just bought what is presumably the best that Industria Argentina could supply. It's a piece of garbage. I have never seen an inanimate object that could kink itself so badly. It has very little utility for actually flowing water.
I think I mentioned earlier that my mechanic has a hierarchy of sources for parts for my vehicles: get the Japanese-made part if you can. If not, then other Asian or European source. If not, then Brazilian-made. If it is impossible to source a hardware part that way, those made in Argentina are the absolute last resort.
Most food packaging here is OK, though we usually don't think of that as “manufacturing.”
@ML
Jan 16th, 2017 - 01:58 am - Link - Report abuse 0Really, what are you still doing in Argentina, dealing with those horrendous garden hoses? Quick, move on to civilized countries like the U.S. or the U.K. that you admire!
You could try and enjoy the U.S. “sophisticated” health care system!
While you ready your luggage, you could have “your mechanic” to write a few comments in MP. It may be more entertaining than your permanent crapping on the country that his hosting you.
However, you don't fit the profile of a real entrepreneur--those are resourceful persons who do their best with what they have instead of losing time complaining, as you do, about how bad the available products are.
@Kanye
Any system, any party will appear brilliant in comparison to the current government and what is doing--destroying the productive domestic sector and the jobs it provides, sinking the population's purchase power, allowing speculation to flourish, and at the same time taking state corruption to a level never dreamt--not even by Clarin when talking about the Kirchners.
It won't be long we'll see “Kanye” discreetely disappear from MP and a new nickname pop up--once Macri goes down in flames.
Mr EM
Jan 16th, 2017 - 03:27 am - Link - Report abuse 0Whatever happens to Macri, it won't be because Evita K and her Campora Cronies have a better solution.
Why would “Kanye” need to disappear?
Where will Mr Enrique go when the Peronist resume sinking the ship?
At least reekie acknowledges the sorry state of manufacturing in Argentina. I thought he was going to try to find some really fine examples of things produced here with high quality and competitive prices. But of course that would be a pointless exercise, and besides he's 9000 miles away, so instead he suggests fleeing. Perhaps to Canada, eh? I hear you can buy decent hoses in Canada, eh, reekie? And the government's policies don't interfere with the availability of decent hoses in Canada as they go in Argenzuela, eh reekie?
Jan 16th, 2017 - 12:54 pm - Link - Report abuse -1A republiqueta bananera is one where you can't even buy a decent garden hose.
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