Argentina Bond-Sale Bust Is Missed Chance as Maturities Loom
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Argentina missed a chance to boost foreign reserves and push back much of the $12 billion in debt coming due next year as investors balked at the terms for the country’s first bond sale since defaulting in July.
The government issued just $286 million of the $3 billion in 10-year notes that it offered last week for 96.2 cents on the dollar, above the 94.4 cents they fetch in the secondary market. Offers to swap $6.3 billion of securities due next year for ones that mature in 2024 lured investors holding less than 10 percent of the debt outstanding. Both the swap and the sale involved notes governed by local law, exempt from a U.S. court ruling that prevents the country from paying overseas debt.