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The Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, announced this Friday that the national government “successfully” closed a reprogramming for a capital amount of 1,972 million dollars with the Paris Club, with a reduction in the interest rate and an extension in payment terms.
“Today we have successfully concluded the agreement with the Paris Club for Argentina,” Massa said when launching a credit program for SMEs in Escobar, while pointing out the importance of “consolidating the credibility” of the country.
“Many of the companies that are here were denied access to credit in Europe and to trade with companies from the European bloc because we had been locked in negotiations with the Paris Club,” said the minister, at a ceremony in which he was also present the Secretary of Industry and Productive Development, José Ignacio De Mendiguren.
Massa participated by telephone from Argentina in the meetings with the Paris Club that led the technical team, headed by the person in charge of relations with multilateral organizations and head of INDEC, Marco Lavagna, and the head of advisers to the Palacio de Hacienda , Leonardo Madcur, told Télam official sources.
The understanding announced a solution to the problem generated by the interruption of the payments of the agreement reached in 2014, which was generated in 2019 during the government of Mauricio Macri due to the fact that the scheduled maturity program was not complied with.
The new agreement is based on the one signed in 2014, when Axel Kicillof was in charge of the Palacio de Hacienda, but extends the payment in thirteen semi-annual installments starting in December of this year and ending in September 2028.
The interest rate is improved from paying the current 9% to 3.9% in the first three installments, and gradually rises to 4.5%, “which is a good rate, taking into account the international context,” they said. the sources.
Also, This refinancing does not compromise the commitment assumed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to increase reserves because it involves disbursements of US$ 170 million per semester, between principal and interest.
The agreement assumes that Argentina will return 40% of the capital in the next two years. If the conditions of 2014 had been maintained, 58% of the capital would have had to be returned, according to the sources.
Background of the negotiations with the Paris Club
In October, Massa made great strides in Washington in negotiations with the Paris Club, during a meeting he held with its secretary general, Emmanuel Moulin.
And he planned to schedule a trip to France for this week, although later for agenda reasons the minister remained in Argentina.
This change of plans did not prevent talks from starting between the parties, and Massa deciding to participate by telephone, in view of the fact that there was already a rapprochement at the beginning of October.
The total debt with the Paris Club is approximately US$2.4 billion and it was reduced to just over US$ 1,900 million due to the removal of interest and penalty paymentsofficial sources reported.
The approval of the second review of the current program with the IMF, which was formally finalized on October 7, was key to advancing the negotiations, since for the Paris Club it is a base condition (unwritten), to evaluate the performance and policies for the refinancing of Argentina’s debt with said multilateral organization.
Regarding the composition of the debt, the main creditors are Germany, with 37%; Japan, 22%; Holland, 8%; and Spain, Italy and the United States with shares of around 6%.
