Ecuador to repurchase debt at 70 percent discount

Ecuador unveils debt buyback plans with 70 percent discount on 2012, 2030 bonds

Staff
AP News

Apr 20, 2009 09:00 EDT

Ecuador's finance minister says her country will repurchase nearly a third of its foreign debt at a 70 percent discount, ending months of speculation about a default.

Minister Maria Elsa Viteri says the government will buy back about $3.2 billion in Global 2012 and 2030 bonds, worth about 32 percent of Ecuador's total foreign debt.

Bondholders have until May 15 to bid or make a counteroffer on the government's terms.

Viteri on Monday said the government expected to have details of the final deal around May 26.

A government audit last year determined that conditions surrounding the debt sale had left the bonds "illegal and illegitimate," prompting President Rafael Correa to order the refinancing.

Source: AP News