VENEZUELA

In line with the sovereign debt restructuring proposal made by the Venezuelan Executive last week, on September 21 a group of bondholders created a fund to negotiate the Venezuelan government’s unpaid securities. The fund entities are keen to discuss new debt payment agreements in the short term with the Executive Power.

Representatives from the Global Opportunities Fund “Canaima” assured that their objective is “to safeguard the assets of investors and ensure that they are treated fairly.” In this sense, they reported that there is still no consensus on whether they will negotiate with the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, or the president of the National Assembly, Juan Guaidó. It should be recalled that the latter is recognized as the de facto president of Venezuela by more than 50 countries.

The proposal made last September 16 to the bondholders by the Vice President and Minister of Economy and Finance of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, consists of an “interruption agreement” affecting sovereign debt interest and capital payments. The initiative comes in answer to the alleged problems of the Executive Power in paying these commitments due to the financial sanctions imposed by the United States. The offer expires on October 13.