IMF in ‘initial stages’ of Argentina loan talks

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is in the early phase of talks with Argentina over a new rescue package, and is gathering information on how best to help the crisis-hit nation, a fund official said on Thursday, September 10. 

“We are in the initial stages of the process,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters, noting that fund officials are focused on “fact finding” and “listening to the Argentine authorities for their sense of priorities.”

After defaulting on its debt in May for the 9th time in history, the government of President Alberto Fernandez in late August reached a deal with foreign creditors to restructure $66 billion in debt after months of tense negotiations, giving it $37.7 billion in debt relief.

Once a deal seemed assured, Buenos Aires formally opened consultations with the IMF to agree new terms on the repayment of a $44-billion bailout loan agreed in 2018.

The talks with the Washington-based crisis lender are “taking place in what I would characterize as a very constructive climate,” Rice said at a press conference, but there is no date yet for a sending a mission to Argentina to further the discussions.

Key topics in the talks include the government’s “plans to strengthen macroeconomic stability, kick-start growth and job creation, and reduce poverty, unemployment, and, of course, to help Argentina fight the pandemic, which is an additional serious challenge,” the official said. 

Argentina’s troubles have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than a third of the country’s population of 44 million living in poverty. 

Inflation stands at 40% and the IMF expects Latin America’s 3rd largest economy to shrink by 10% this year. – Rappler.com