(Reuters) – Argentina’s economy ministry is analyzing the launch of a voluntary asset conversion operation, it said in a statement on Wednesday, aiming to bring some relief to ailing government finances.
In its statement following a meeting between the ministry’s finance chiefs and bank representatives, the ministry said the operation would seek to continue ordering the countries’ maturity profile in pesos and “obtain financial relief for the treasury.”
The South American country, one of the world’s largest food exporters, has been severely hit by a recent drought and is battling tumbling foreign reserves that are threatening its ability to meet payments.
Given the proportion of maturities in the public sector and support of the private sector in periodic tenders, the ministry said its goral was to achieve “an extension of terms that clears maturities and generates greater predictability in the market.”
Last week, the country’s government asked oil companies to finance their own imports for 90 days due to the shortage of foreign currency at the country’s central bank, according to an official source familiar with the matter.
(Reporting by Carolina Pulice; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Sarah Morland)