President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner today will meet bondholder and billionaire financier George Soros, who is suing a US bank caught in the middle of the country’s latest debt default, a government minister said.
Cristina earlier held a meeting with UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon, whom she thanked in person for the multi-lateral organisation’s approval of a resolution to create a new convention over the restructuring of sovereign debt.
The meeting comes as Argentine government struggles to kick-start growth and contain runaway consumer prices after failing to complete a June interest payment to Soros and other holders of bonds restructured after a previous default.
Soros’ portfolio also includes a 3.5 percent stake in Argentina’s state-controlled energy firm YPF. Buenos Aires has frequently cited the Hungarian-born magnate’s investments in the country as a signal of investor confidence in the $490 billion economy.
Cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich gave no details on what the president and Soros would discuss. Local media reported that Ms. Kirchner would be looking to shore up support for her unflinching stance against a small group of investors whose decade-long debt row with Argentina triggered July’s default.
The head of state is in the US ahead of the United Nations General Assembly, as relations between Buenos Aires and Washington sour over the role a US court played in Argentina’s debt saga.
buenosairesherald.com