Argentina’s Economy Minister Axel Kicillof said his government wouldn’t oppose a third-party solution such as a deal being sought by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other banks that would allow the country to resume debt payments. His comments came as a group of international investment banks met with Elliott Management Corp and other “holdout” creditors that successfully sued the country for $1.5 billion to propose buying securities they own from an earlier default in 2001.
“Argentina doesn’t oppose it if privates want to negotiate with ‘vulture funds’ using their own money,” said Mr. Kicillof during a press conference in Buenos Aires yesterday. “But the state can’t put its own money because that would mean breaking the law. It would be fraud.”
The long-running dispute between Argentina and its creditors led to Argentinean debt more expensive to insure against default than other countries with costs increasing more than 11 percent in the past week. Investor letters and regulatory filings show that DE Shaw, the family office of George Soros, Third Point and Renaissance Technologies have all bought holdings in the US-listed shares of Argentinean companies, including oil companies YPF and Petrobras Argentina, former state phone company Telecom Argentina and lender Banco Frances.
In a letter to investors this month, Dan Loeb – manager of the $14 billion US hedge fund Third Point – wrote that he had bought a stake in YPF, arguing that “we are in the midst of a critical inflection point for the country. “Argentina will regain access to global capital markets and solve its liquidity problem,” he wrote, feeling hopeful that a resolution can still be reached.
Some of the world’s largest hedge funds have been snapping up Argentinean stocks after Standard & Poor’s placed Argentina’s credit rating on “selective default” on Wednesday when it failed to make a 539 million (€402 million) interest payment on its debt.
Analysts believe that the complex nature of the default has left investors hopeful that the default would provide a buying opportunity with investors.
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