Argentina's economy ministry is preparing to exchange about $8 billion in corporate debt for local bonds in a bid to reduce the dollar exposure of the country's largest companies, financial daily El Cronistareported.
The scheme would also help reduce the amount of money trapped in banks due to the banking restrictions imposed in Dec 2001, since the swap would involve the use of bank deposit certificates (cedros), which would be exchanged for state bonds (boden).
Only $8 billion, out of 16 billion worth of debt, would qualify for the swap, the paper said.
US banks - which have already provisioned most of the debt they granted to Argentine companies - would be able to hold bodens, which are tradable dollar securities, the report said.
The debt-restructuring operation may include a cash component of 15 per of the total amount, it said .
The government expects to be able to present the detail of the operation next week, it said.
© AFX News