Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Argentine Economy Minister Amado Boudou said the country may sell bonds before the end of the year even as details on a swap for $20 billion in defaulted debt are concluded, La Nacion said, citing an interview with the minister.

Boudou said he wants any new bonds to carry an interest rate of less than 10 percent, La Nacion reported. Boudou also said he is looking at a range of options for the maturity of the bonds, from the short-term to the long-term, the Buenos Aires- based newspaper reported.

The debt swap, announced by Boudou on Oct. 22, will offer holders of defaulted debt dating to the country’s 2001 financial crisis a 25-year dollar bond and a seven-year bond to help cover interest payments withheld since a 2005 restructuring, La Nacion said, without identifying where it obtained the information.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Faries in Buenos Aires at wfaries@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: October 24, 2009 09:49 EDT