Argentina's Cordoba province claims victory in debt restructuring

BUENOS AIRES, Jan 11 (Reuters) - The governor of the central Argentine province of Cordoba, Juan Schiaretti, said on Monday an agreement had been reached with creditors to restructure around $1.7 billion in debt as the country battles an enduring recession worsened by COVID-19.

The country’s second most important province after Buenos Aires in terms of contribution to GDP has been locked in lengthy negotiations with bondholders including the Ad Hoc group which holds more than 50% of foreign-held debt but had rejected several previous proposals.

On Monday night, Schiaretti announced a breakthrough with investors.

“We are the first Argentine province that has managed to restructure its debt without entering into default,” he wrote on his Twitter account.

“Cordoba took on this debt and now due to the crisis caused by the pandemic has restructured it, giving us a better financial outlook.”

The foreign-held, foreign-law bonds were due to mature from 2023 up until 2029. Schiaretti said the new agreement allowed the province to save around $700 million over the next four years through interest rate cuts and deferring liabilities.

Argentina’s restructuring in September of almost $110 billion of sovereign dollar debt lifted the beleaguered South American country from default but also opened the door for local governments to resolve their regional crises.

Many provinces defaulted on debts following the sudden devaluation of the Argentine peso in 2018. The currency crisis that year prompted then President Mauricio Macri to sign onto a $57 billion standby lending deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a pact it is currently renegoting.

The province of Buenos Aires, Argentina’s largest and wealthiest, is aiming to restructure some $7 billion in foreign-law debt. (Reporting by Jorge Otaola, writing by Aislinn Laing; Editing by Kim Coghill)