Argentina announced Tuesday that it reached a $900 million preliminary accord to settle its pending debt with 50,000 Italian holders of defaulted Argentine government bonds. Finance minister Alfonso Prat-Gay said that the agreement with Italian bondholders includes the Argentine government's acknowledgement of the debt and reasonable interest.
Representatives from holdout investment funds have requested the Argentine government to postpone until the first week of February, next week's scheduled proposal to overcome the country's debt situation which remains technically in default.
Argentina announced that all the details of the negotiation with the speculative funds, taking place in New York, will be made public in order to guarantee the transparency of the process. The news from the Finance Ministry dismissed reports that the holdouts were demanding the Argentine government sign a confidentiality agreement before talks can begin.
Argentina's new finance minister said on Wednesday it was imperative to resolve the country's legal dispute with U.S. creditors over unpaid debt because financing of the country's fiscal deficit this year may depend on progress on the issue.
A challenging financial week takes off for Argentina's new administration of president Mauricio Macri: on the one hand Argentine farmers have to keep their part of the deal by providing the central bank with 400 million dollars a week, and on the other the long-awaited debt talks are expected to resume in New York next Wednesday with United States hedge funds suing Argentina over defaulted sovereign bonds.
Creditors suing Argentina over billions of dollars in defaulted bonds have subpoenaed HSBC Holdings Plc for information about the country's effort to raise money abroad, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, as reported by Reuters.
The incoming government of Argentine president Mauricio Macri is about to receive its first financial boost from overseas, which according La Nacion sources could be in the range of 8 billion dollars.
US judge Thomas Griesa on Friday accepted the priority repayment claims of hundreds more Argentine bondholders who did not join a huge debt restructuring. The ruling, on 49 complaints representing debt worth $6.1 billion, added fresh pressure on Buenos Aires which has refused to pay off two hedge fund creditors that already won court support for their claims.
US District Judge Thomas Griesa of New York on Wednesday urged Argentina to resume talks to settle bondholder litigation flowing from its $100 billion default in 2002. The judge made the remarks as creditors suing over defaulted bonds urged him to expand to nearly $8 billion the amount Argentina must pay them to service its restructured debts.
Investors holding euro-denominated Argentine bonds, including billionaire George Soros, called on trustee Bank of New York Mellon yesterday (BONY) to turn over its duties to state-owned Banco Nación so they can get paid the 225 million euros currently frozen by United States District Judge Thomas Griesa’s orders.