Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Gov't comitted to negotiate with holdout hedge funds

Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich reiterated once again Argentina’s willingness to pay all of its creditors and neither confirmed nor denied the possibility to pay holdout hedge funds with bonds, as suggested yesterday by an Elliot Management representative.

The Kirchnerite official confirmed the government’s attendance to the meeting scheduled by US Judge Thomas Griesa for next Monday to begin negotiations and blasted the so-called vulture funds saying they “have never sat at the negotiating table”. 

Asked about the remarks made yesterday by Jay Newman, accounts chief at Elliot Management, who pointed to the agreements reached by Argentina with Spanish Repsol and Paris Club creditors as good examples for an eventual pact, the Cabinet Chief said the government will stick to the negotiating plan set by Judge Griesa, starting with next Monday's meeting.

He also blasted the so-called vulture funds, saying they “have no moral authority because they have always hampered [talks for] any possible solution”.

“They are called vultures because they do not want to negotiate, they encourage attacks and affronts to a sovereign country,” he stated in his daily press briefing at Government House.

“We think it is a priority to engage in a dialogue for negotiating conditions that respect [Argentina’s debt] restructuring process,” Capitanich said, “and that encourage equitable, legal and fair conditions for 100% of bondholders”.