Venezuela A group of European and Latin American countries on Saturday urged Venezuelan authorities and opposition leaders to resume their dialogue in Mexico aimed at resolving the country's political and economic crises. The International Contact Group (ICG), comprising European Union countries and several Latin American nations, issued its call in a statement a day after a "high-level" videoconference dealing with regional elections held in Venezuela on November 21. Those elections saw the victory of the ruling party but also a return to participation by the opposition following years of electoral boycotts. The talks began in August 2021 and continued through several rounds before the Venezuelan authorities suspended them in October. That followed the extradition by the African nation of Cape Verde to the United States of a Colombian businessman on money laundering charges. The businessman, Alex Saab, is considered a confidant of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, though the opposition has described him as a frontman doing shady dealings with Maduro's government.

 

Venezuela A group of European and Latin American countries on Saturday urged Venezuelan authorities and opposition leaders to resume their dialogue in Mexico aimed at resolving the country's political and economic crises. The International Contact Group (ICG), comprising European Union countries and several Latin American nations, issued its call in a statement a day after a "high-level" videoconference dealing with regional elections held in Venezuela on November 21. Those elections saw the victory of the ruling party but also a return to participation by the opposition following years of electoral boycotts. The talks began in August 2021 and continued through several rounds before the Venezuelan authorities suspended them in October. That followed the extradition by the African nation of Cape Verde to the United States of a Colombian businessman on money laundering charges. The businessman, Alex Saab, is considered a confidant of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, though the opposition has described him as a frontman doing shady dealings with Maduro's government.   Also last week, Bloomberg reported that Venezuela’s government and Chevron Corp. are in preliminary talks to give the company greater control of some operations in exchange for debt relief as the country’s socialist leaders try to increase production despite U.S. sanctions. The head of Chevron’s Venezuela unit, Javier La Rosa, and the president of state oil company PDVSA, Asdrubal Chavez, have been involved in the discussions, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. Before any agreement can be reached, however, Chevron would need a special waiver from the U.S. Treasury allowing it to engage in more formal negotiations. The company is simultaneously requesting the license from the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which oversees foreign sanctions, according to a third person with knowledge of the situation. The four fields Chevron and PDVSA jointly operate produced more than 200,000 barrels prior to sanctions, compared to the current output of 140,000 barrels a day. The discussions with Chevron reveal how President Nicolas Maduro’s government is willing to cede parts of its prized oil industry to outside companies as it attempts to increase production to his latest target of 2 million barrels a day. By using local contractors and importing additives from Iran, the country has managed to more than double output to around 800,000 barrels a day from a seven-decade low it hit in 2020. Foreign companies like Chevron are critical if the country is to pump more.  In one scenario under discussion, PDVSA would keep financial control in joint ventures with Chevron, but turn over the operational lead on matters such as contracting, accounting, paying service providers, and technical decisions, according the people. In exchange, Chevron would increase its revenue from the ventures and deduct those sales from the more than $3 billion it is owed by PDVSA, the people said.  The debts relate to old Chevron investments and sales it was not able to book due to the sanctions.   Last but not least, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Wednesday his government is maintaining contact with holders of the country’s bonds and is willing to make good on payment obligations which have gone unattended since the end of 2017. Maduro advisors spoke to investors and bondholders from Europe and the United States about their country’s economic potential during a call in January. “We have a dialogue with (bondholders) and we have made them a very powerful offer for Venezuela to honor its commitments,” Maduro said during an event with bankers broadcast on state television. “But the government of the United States is impeding it.” Maduro did not give any details about the proposal but said bondholders are the ones being hurt by U.S. sanctions. Venezuela suspended payments to bondholders in November 2017 and proposed re-negotiating $60bn in debt, but sanctions from Washington, which block U.S. companies and individuals from doing business with Venezuela has stymied any talks. Another re-negotiation attempt was made in October 2020 to no avail.

 

Credit Type / ISIN Indicative price (%)* Venezuela VENZ 13 5/8 08/15/18 5.75 7.75 Venezuela VENZ 9 ¼ 09/15/27 5.75 7.75 Venezuela VENZ 7 3/4 10/13/19 5.75 7.75 Venezuela VENZ 6 12/09/20 5.75 7.75 Venezuela VENZ 12 3/4 08/23/22 5.75 7.75 Venezuela VENZ 9 05/07/23 5.75 7.75 Venezuela VENZ 8 1/4 10/13/24 5.75 7.75 Venezuela VENZ 7.65 04/21/25 5.75 7.75 Venezuela VENZ 11 3/4 10/21/26 5.75 7.75 Venezuela VENZ 9 1/4 05/07/28 5.75 7.75 Venezuela VENZ 11.95 08/05/31 5.75 7.75 Venezuela VENZ 9 3/8 01/13/34 5.75 7.75 Venezuela VENZ 7 03/31/38 5.75 7.75 Venezuela ICSID Claims Call desk for Prices PDVSA PDVSA 8 1/2 10/27/20 15 17.5 PDVSA PDVSA 9 11/17/21 3.75 4.5 PDVSA PDVSA 12 3/4 02/17/22 3.75 4.5 PDVSA PDVSA 6 10/28/22 2.5 3.5 PDVSA PDVSA 6 05/16/24 3.75 4.5 PDVSA PDVSA 6 11/15/26 3.75 4.5 PDVSA PDVSA 5 3/8 04/12/27 3.75 4.5 PDVSA PDVSA 9 3/4 05/17/35 3.75 4.5 PDVSA PDVSA 5 1/2 04/12/37 3.75 4.5 PDVSA Promissory Notes Call desk for Prices PDVSA Trade Receivables Call desk for Prices * Indicative price for positions with institutional size only. For smaller sizes please call desk

 

 

Argentina The IMF recognises that the programme being worked out after an initial understanding was reached last week needs to have broader support from society, a lesson learned from the deal that collapsed in 2018, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Thursday. A programme would help the nation avoid an even worse economic deterioration and increasing poverty as it battles inflation running above 50 percent, she said. Georgieva underlined the importance of the plan being based on realistic assumptions that don’t only depend on the expected scenario but also contemplate risks. It must recognise the limits of the potential for making changes in Argentina in the coming years, given the opposition from the radical left-wing portion of the country’s ruling Peronist coalition, she said. Argentina and the IMF must agree on details of the deal in the coming weeks, and it still needs to be approved by the country’s Congress and the IMF’s board of directors. The pact would help refinance more than $40bn of outstanding debt the nation has with the lender stemming from the record 2018 bailout.

 

Credit Type / ISIN Indicative price (%)* Argentina ARGENT 0 1/2 07/09/30 32.9 33.5 Argentina ARGENT 1 07/09/29 34.5 34.6 Argentina ARGENT 1 1/8 07/09/35 29.7 30.3 Argentina ARGENT 2 1/2 07/09/41 34 34.7 Argentina ARGENT 2 01/09/38 36.1 36.9 Argentina ARGENT 1 1/8 07/09/46 30.3 30.9 Province of Buenos Aires BUENOS 3.9 09/01/37 41.3 44.9 Province of Buenos Aires BUENOS 2.85 09/01/37 35.6 38.9 Province of Buenos Aires BUENOS 3 1/2 09/01/37 34.7 40.3 Province of Buenos Aires BUENOS 3 09/01/37 32.7 34.7 Province of Buenos Aires BUENOS 2 09/01/37 31.7 33.4 Province of Buenos Aires BUENOS 2 1/2 09/01/37 34 36.7 YPF YPFDAR 8 1/2 07/28/25 79.1 80.7 YPF YPFDAR 8 3/4 04/04/24 92.1 95.8 YPF YPFDAR 6.95 07/21/27 66.3 70.4 YPF YPFDAR 7 12/15/47 60.2 67.9 YPF YPFDAR 8 1/2 06/27/29 70.9 74.9 Banco Macro BMAAR 6.643 11/04/26 83.7 86.2 * Indicative price for positions with institutional size only. For smaller sizes please call desk

 

 

Cuba   Cuba on Monday marks 60 years under a US economic blockade that has deeply affected the communist nation's fortunes and shows no signs of being lifted. Decreed by US president John F. Kennedy on February 3, 1962, the embargo on all bilateral trade came into effect four days later. Its purpose, said Kennedy's executive order, was to reduce the threat posed by the island nation's "alignment with the communist powers." Despite failing to force a change in tack from Havana since then, the sanctions remain in place six decades later, and are blamed by Cuban authorities for damage to the country's economy amounting to some $150 billion. Cuba is experiencing its worst economic crisis in 30 years, with inflation at 70 percent and a severe shortage of food and medicines as the Covid-19 pandemic dealt a hefty blow to a key source of income: tourism