Argentina’s Buenos Aires extends $7 billion debt deal deadline to January 4

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s Buenos Aires province has extended an already-delayed deadline to Jan. 4 for bondholders to agree a deal to restructure some $7 billion in foreign debt, the local government said in a statement late on Monday.

The extension comes as the latest deadline came and went on Friday without an agreement with its creditors.

“The Ministry of Finance will continue to dialogue in good faith with external private creditors,” the district said in the statement announcing the extension on its website. It said its goal was “the sustainability of the provincial public debt.”

The sprawling province, home to the country´s capital, has extended the deadline for talks several times, despite the national government’s recent successful revamp of almost $110 billion in foreign currency bonds. Bondholders rejected an earlier debt offer by the province.

Argentina has been mired in an economic crisis since 2018 and is heading for its third consecutive year of recession, with an expected contraction close to 12% this year, as well as a currency crisis that has led to tough capital controls.