Thursday, December 30, 2010

Brady bond swap 'getting 80.6% acceptance,' Boudou says

Argentina reached an acceptance rate of 80.6 percent on its US$330 million swap of defaulted Brady bonds, Economy Minister Amado Boudou told local radio a day after the debt exchange offer expired.

Minister Boudou also referred to President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s recent decision to add $53 billion to the 2010 budget via an emergency decree in order to have a budget for next year, and assured that the country “will continue to function normally.”

Mr. Boudou also praised the decision to use foreign currency reserves to service the public since “it allowed for us to get rid of debt and to grow they way we’re growing now.”

The minister also said that consumption levels in December “would be higher than November’s,” explaining that “the current economic models allowed all Argentines to have access to consumption.”

“The new emergency decree will allow for this situation to continue,” he concluded.