Argentina’s Economy Ministry announced on Friday it would issue a local-law bond in U.S. dollars to partially pay for the debt maturities it is facing in January.

The new bond, called BONAR 2029N, will be tendered on December 10, mature in 2029 and pay a 6.5% coupon every six months. The final yield is yet to be determined.

The measure follows a series of successful debt placements by companies and provincial governments. The Buenos Aires province government is seeking to do the same, but Economy Minister Luis Caputo hinted that the Milei administration would not allow it.

The new bond will be the first time that Argentina issues U.S. dollar debt since 2018.

“After almost eight years of lacking access to the medium- and long-term dollar financing market, the federal government is once again placing a foreign currency bond,” the economy ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also added that the Central Bank has bought more U.S. dollars than “any other administration” but hasn’t been able to add them to its reserves since they were used to pay off debt.

Argentina is facing close to US$4.2 billion in debt maturities in January, and the government has not accumulated enough dollars........

© Buenos Aires Herald