1. Province of Buenos Aires reaches debt agreement with major creditors

After long negotiations, the provincial government of Buenos Aires reached a debt agreement with its major creditors. As such, it decided to formally launch a new offer and extend the deadline to exchange the bonds valued at USD $7.1 billion through August 13th. The new proposal contemplates substantial changes with respect to the one presented in April 2020. According to Axel Kicillof’s government, “the new terms will imply a reduction of total services during the period 2020-2024 of approximately USD $4.45 billion, the repayment terms will be tripled, while there will be a significant reduction in the total cost of the debt: the maximum coupon that the province had to pay prior to the restructuring will be reduced by about 40%”, they emphasized, through a statement. The extension of the payment terms until 2037 and that the creditors will receive a part in cash are also highlighted.

Perfil: Provincia de Buenos Aires acordó canje de deuda con bonistas tras un año en default
Télam: Provincia de Buenos Aires alcanzó un acuerdo de deuda con los grandes acreedores

2. Closing of legislative party lists: the names of the candidates to be defined tomorrow

Saturday is the deadline for the presentation of party lists for the legislative election. For the Frente de Todos, there is secrecy surrounding the exact names, although some are asking that ministers like Gabriel Katopodis and cabinet chief Santiago Cafiero top the lists. Similarly, the President of the National Council of Social Policies, Victoria Tolosa Paz, who has been touring the province for some time, sounds as the president’s choice to head the list in the largest district of the country, but unknowns remain. In the City of Buenos Aires, legislator Leandro Santoro is on his way to head the official list, accompanied by current deputy Carlos Heller. The opposition bloc, on the other hand, will have two internal lists in the province of Buenos Aires: one from the Unión Cívica Radical (UCR), headed by Facundo Manes and another from the PRO, headed by Diego Santilli. It should be noted that both publicly announced their candidacy. In the case of the city, the list headed by María Eugenia Vidal and Martín Tetaz has the approval of Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, Major of Buenos Aires City. In addition, Ricardo López Murphy and UCR partisans Luis Brandoni and former Health Minister Adolfo Rubinstein will compete in the internal race. For the most important dates of the electoral calendar click here.

Página 12: Recta final para definir candidatos: los nombres en juego en el Frente de Todos y en Juntos por el Cambio
La Nación: Cierre de listas: “Esperamos que Alberto y Cristina definan”, dijo Victoria Tolosa Paz
Perfil: Cierre de listas: cuáles son los nombres que circulan con mayor fuerza en el FDT y JxC

3. Argentina signs IMF´s allocation of Special Drawing Rights

Economy Minister Martín Guzmán voted this Tuesday in favor of the allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) from the IMF for USD $650 billion, of which USD $4.36 billion dollars correspond to Argentina and will arrive in the country in August. Voting by the 190 ministers and governors who are members of the multilateral lender ends on August 2^nd. If more than 85% of the votes are positive and the new issue of SDRs is approved, these would be distributed by the end of that month. “Today Argentina says yes to the new SDR allocation for USD $650 billion dollars, a positive multilateral decision for the world and for our country”, said Guzmán, and added: “Positive global leadership and multilateral diplomacy of which Argentina was part made this achievement possible.” In May of this year, the Senate approved the initiative that requests the Ministry of Economy to allocate the SDRs to face the problems related to coronavirus and not to the payment of the debt.

Cronista: Argentina firmó la asignación de los DEG del FMI: llegan u$s4.350 millones en agosto
Argentina: Argentina votó a favor de la nueva asignación de DEG del FMI

4. According to the INDEC, the economy contracted 2% in May

The Argentine statistical agency’s (INDEC) Monthly Economic Activity Estimator registered a 2% decline in its seasonally adjusted measurement with respect to April. In the first five months of the year, the indicator accumulated an increase of 9.5%. In the inter-annual comparison, a positive variation of 13.6% was recorded in May, due to a contraction of activity in the same period of 2020 due to the pandemic. The best performing sectors were Industry (29.9% year-on-year; with a contribution of 4 percentage points in the measurement) and Commerce (23.3% year-on-year), items that already have experienced seven consecutive increases.

5. U.S. warns investors about Argentina´s “interventionist and unpredictable” economy 

The U.S. State Department’s annual report on Argentina issued a warning about the business climate in the country. However, it noted that there are investment opportunities. “It presents investment and trade opportunities, particularly in agriculture, energy, health, infrastructure, information technology, and mining. However, economic uncertainty, interventionist policies, high inflation, and persistent economic stagnation have prevented the country from maximizing its potential,” the U.S. government considered. The report also questions taxes on foreign trade, price controls, capital controls and access to foreign currency. On the other hand, reference is made to the country’s tax and labor pressure: “both domestic and foreign companies frequently point to a high and unpredictable tax burden and rigid labor laws, which make it difficult to respond to changing macroeconomic conditions, as obstacles to further investment in Argentina”. On the positive side, the U.S. points to Argentina’s workers as some of the most skilled in the region and notes that “Argentina has a relatively strong banking sector based on diversified revenues, well-contained operating costs, and a high level of liquidity. Argentina’s banking sector has been resilient in the face of a multi-year economic downturn.”

Infobae: Un informe de los EEUU sobre la economía argentina advirtió sobre inflación elevada, alta carga fiscal y regulaciones “impredecibles”
El Cronista: Demoledor: Estados Unidos advierte a inversores sobre economía “intervencionista e impredecible” de Argentina