MOSCOW, September 4 (RIA Novosti) - A measure that would transfer the settlement location of Argentina's restructured debt obligations from New York to Buenos Aires was approved by the Argentine lawmakers, Agence France-Presse reported Thursday about the country still trying to recover from a 2001 default.
The measure was passed Thursday in the Senate by a vote of 39 to 27 with two abstentions, and now goes to the Chamber of Deputies, the agency reported.
The plan in fully backed by Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and is aimed to push bondholders to swap their Argentine debt issued under foreign law for bonds of the same value governed by Argentine law. As part of the plan, France was also added as an alternative payment source in the vote Wednesday.
Most of Argentina’s creditors agreed to restructure its debt. According to the agreements, Argentina will repay them 70 percent of the face value of their bonds, but two US hedge funds refused to accept the deal and the US court ruled in their favor. The ruling forced Argentina into its second default in 13 years.
"Excuse me if I get a little nervous, I usually have more poise. However, I really feel that we are living a moment of great injustice in Argentina," Kirchner was quoted as saying by The Telegraph in a televised statement on August 20.
Buenos Aires, which entered into default after a grace period on a $539 million interest payment expired on July 30, is scheduled to make the next payment on its restructured debt on September 30, AFP reported.
