Venezuela Debt Crisis Nears New Low as Riskiest Bond Matures
- Elecar owes bondholders a $650 million principal payment
- So far, Venezuela has only missed interest obligations
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The Venezuelan debt crisis could be on the verge of a new milestone as a $650 million bond matures Tuesday with little hope it’ll get paid.
The notes from the state-run electric utility were always considered among the country’s riskiest securities because the downsides to a default are relatively minor. They don’t contain any cross-default rules that would affect sovereign debt or notes from the state oil company, and the utility doesn’t have any overseas assets that investors could try to seize.