Argentina will continue to negotiate with its creditors to reach a debt agreement after rejecting an offer from a group of bondholders led by BlackRock Inc.
There are still "multiple combinations of parameters" for a deal that "would work for us," Finance Minister Martin Guzmán told the Financial Times in an interview published Tuesday.
When asked if a default was too high a price to pay, Guzmán said that every path has its trade-offs.
The bondholder group's offer did not include a reduction in principal or interest payments, Guzmán said, adding that it included a new interest payment schedule and resulted in an eight percent reduction in the value of the debt.
Argentina wants a three-year moratorium on debt payments, a 62 percent reduction in interest payments and a 5 percent cut in principal. Holders of the country's foreign debt are offered a series of new securities of various maturities, none of which will accrue interest before 2022. No principal will be returned before 2026.
If no agreement is reached before May 22, when a 30-day grace period for coupon payments on some dollar bonds expires, the country would fall into default.
Argentine President Alberto Fernández said in an interview with local television station TN on Monday night that the country does not want to fall into default.
The governing coalition is absolutely committed to an orderly resolution of the debt crisis, Guzmán told the FT.
by Katerina Petroff, Bloomberg
Comments