Members of the economic team will travel to China in order to negotiate the maintenance of the currency swap for about US$5,000 million. The decision comes after disagreements between the Government of Javier Milei and the Asian country over the station located in the province of Neuquén and which was the subject of an inspection days ago.
Members of the economic team will travel to China in order to negotiate the maintenance of the currency swap for about US$5,000 million.
Those in charge will be the Secretary of Finance, Pablo Quirno, and the head of the Central Bank, Santiago Bausili.
They will travel this Friday to China to resume negotiations for the June expiration of a US$5 billion tranche of the swap, the currency exchange that exists between the Central Banks of both countries and that They serve to relieve Argentina’s reserves.
Quirno is Caputo’s right hand in the Ministry of Economy and Bausili, with whom the minister directed the consulting firm Anker Latin America, is also his side in the monetary authority.
The three, who together with BCRA vice president Vladimir Werning, were designated by Javier Milei as the “patriots” at the head of the adjustment plan on the latest national channel, they follow the issue closely.
The mission will be for “renegotiate” the financing of that amount that was activated by the previous Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, to pay Chinese imports and debt with the Monetary Fund with the aim of avoiding a devaluation before the elections.
Now, those yuan that were converted to dollars must be replaced.
Last June, Argentina renewed the US$18 billion swap line with the Popular Bank of China for three years, but There are US$4.9 billion that “contributed to supporting balance of payments needs in 2023” and they are “obligations due this year” and they are seeking to be refinanced.
The minister has already informed the IMF that They seek to “advance” new funds from the World Bank and the IDB to reinforce reserves and ensure technical support for the reforms that remain blocked in Congress and, in the same way, the Central Bank tries to maintain its swap lines with the People’s Bank of China and works on alternatives to refinance the financed sections.
Werning included that liability in his presentation of the “stabilization program” in Washington.
When speaking of “inherited imbalances,” showed that of US$43,000 million of gross reserves as of October 12US$5,000 million were from the activated swap, US$18,400 million were sold and US$19,600 million were committed due to “overindebtedness” with importers.
Net reserves, according to that work, are still at negative US$4 billion.
While the Government seeks US$15 billion with the IMF and investors, Caputo wants to close fronts in view of the net debt payments at the end of the month for US$1.9 billion with the Fund and in July for US$3.5 billion, most of it with bondholders. .
The negotiations are crossed by tensions with China and alignment with the US.
Caputo met with the Chinese ambassador at the end of January Wang Wei to “advance trade, economic and financial relations.”
But now the Government authorized an inspection of the Chinese base in Neuquén following the request of the head of the Southern Command, Laura Richardson.
The chancellor Diana Mondino will travel to China this Thursday accompanied by a business delegation, who will visit Shanghai and Beijing, where they will participate in forums to promote investment opportunities in Argentina.
The official will have meetings with high authorities, including her counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, with whom he will analyze the main issues of bilateral interest.
One is likely to be financing for infrastructure.
China already warned in December that any reform in the Argentine economy will need its “support.”
And in March They paralyzed the works to continue the Patagonian dams due to lack of Chinese funds, so there were 1,800 layoffs in Santa Cruz. The Asian giant also has investments in lithium.
Mondino’s agenda will continue with his visit to France for the meeting of the OECD Council of Ministers, he will meet in Belgium with the highest authorities of the European Union and will conclude in Portugal.
