Ecuador Makes History With $650 Million Payment to Bondholders
- President says nation had `serious problems' meeting payment
- Government signs oil pact with Schlumberger for liquidity
Ecuador repaid $650 million of its foreign debt due Tuesday, marking the first time in the South American nation’s more than 180-year history that it’s repaid global bonds on time, even as a collapse in the OPEC country’s crude prices saps liquidity needed to keep the government operating normally.
President Rafael Correa, who led the nation’s default on $3.2 billion of overseas debt seven years ago, said on his Twitter account Tuesday that the government would also meet public workers’ December salary payments without problems. Ecuador announced a pact with Houston-based Schlumberger Ltd. on Monday, granting the oil-services provider a 20-year contract to pump oil at one of its biggest oil fields in return for a $1 billion payment in the “coming days.” The company pledged to invest a total of $4.9 billion over the life of the contract, according to a statement published on the vice presidency’s website.