* Ecuador’s state-owned oil company Petroamazonas has reported that 98.91% of private bondholders have accepted
its request to defer US$175m in principal repayments until 2021. Economy & finance minister
Richard Martínez celebrated this “
further step towards improving the profile of [Ecuador’s] external debt” and said this agreement would “
relieve the pressure on the fiscal budget, providing the liquidity necessary to face the humanitarian emergency”, referring to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Petroamazonas and Ecuador have been hit hard by the economic effects of the pandemic, most notably the associated crash in international oil prices – the country’s oil revenues in April fell to US$19m, a 90% decrease compared to the US$194m revenue recorded in April 2019. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged the Ecuadorean government to act quickly to reach a more comprehensive debt restructuring agreement with creditors, to guarantee the sustainability of the country’s debt in the face of the economic crisis.
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