Argentina has hired Bank of America Corp and HSBC Holdings PLC as agents for debt restructuring talks and engaged Lazard in order to be its financial advisor, according to a statement from the Economy Minsitry published Sunday.
The government’s announcement came ahead the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission team's second trip to Buenos Aires on Monday, which will study debt sustainability plans of the Alberto Fernández’s administration.
Investors are also preparing to face a “frustrating” restructuring, Economy Minister Martín Guzmán suggested last month. He intends to make a formal offer to creditors in the second week of March.
The IMF previously said that Argentina's debt burden is “unsustainable” and called on private bondholders to make a major contribution to getting the economy back on track while the government aims to renegotiate billions in sovereign debt.
The government is trying to conclude the debt talks by March 31.
Argentina, which has defaulted eight times in its two centuries of independence, received a record US$56 billion in credit from the IMF in 2018 and is seeking to reduce its foreign debt obligations again as the economy heads into its third consecutive year of contraction in 2020.
by Scott Squires & Jorgelina do Rosario, Bloomberg
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