阿根廷没能偿还未妥协债权人欠款 13年来第二次违约

    标准普尔（Standard & Poor's）表示，由于未能在法院规定的最终期限前和一些债权人达成还款协议，阿根廷已于周三出现部分债务违约。

    阿根廷本来需要在6月30日之前向一些债券持有人支付5.39亿美元利息，后来获得了30天的宽限期，而周三是这个宽限期的最后一天。在这个最后关头，阿根廷一直都在和债权人进行谈判；法院还指定了一位调解人，以期在最终期限到来前找到解决办法。

    这位调解人是来自McCarter & English律师事务所的律师丹尼尔•波拉克。他在一份声明中称，鉴于无法达成协议，阿根廷将立即处于违约状态。

    这是13年来阿根廷第二次违约。上次是在2001年，涉及款项1000亿美元。那次违约在阿根廷引发了一场金融危机，也让贷款人深受其害。本次违约对经济的影响预计要小得多，原因是虽然阿根廷经济仍在衰退，但比以前稳定。

    本次要偿还的债务可以追溯到2001年的那场危机。在那之后，阿根廷通过中间人和债权人达成了协议，多数债权人都不会获得全额还款。但一小部分债权人拒绝接受这个方案，并继续设法收回全部欠款，为首的是两只对冲基金——Elliot Management旗下的NML Capital和Aurelius Capital Management。

    这些拒绝妥协的债权人在美国起诉了阿根廷，并在2012年胜诉——美国联邦法院裁定，在确保阿根廷按照已经达成的协议向其他债权人还款的同时，还要强制其支付原有债券欠款。对此，阿根廷一路上诉到了美国最高法院，但后者在上个月决定不受理此案。

    调解人波拉克还表示：“违约并不仅仅是一种‘技术’状态，它还是真实存在的不利事件，真的会对人们造成伤害，这包括阿根廷全体普通民众、和阿根廷达成协议的债券持有人（他们无法取得利息）以及坚持全额还款的债券持有人（他们无法按法院裁决结果收回欠款）。”

    据彭博（Bloomberg）报道，阿根廷经济部长阿克塞尔•基奇洛夫在谈判结束后对记者表示，阿根廷拒绝在“被勒索”的情况下和一些债券持有人达成协议。基奇洛夫将这些债券持有人称为“秃鹫基金”。（财富中文网）

    译者：Charlie

    Standard & Poor’s declared Argentina to be in default of some of its debt on Wednesday after the country failed to reach a bond payment deal with a group of creditors before a court-imposed deadline.

    Wednesday marked the end of a 30-day grace period Argentina had to make a scheduled $539 million interest payment to a group of bondholders that was due June 30. The country had been holding last-minute negotiations with the creditors and a court-appointed debt mediator in hopes of reaching a resolution before the deadline passed.

    The mediator, McCarter & English attorney Daniel Pollack, said in a statement that, because an agreement could not be reached, Argentina “will imminently be in default.”

    This is Argentina’s second default in 13 years after it stopped making payments on $100 billion of debt in 2001, setting off a financial crisis in the South American country and severely wounding some its lenders. This latest default is expected to have a far less severe economic consequences because Argentina, although in recession, is now more economically stable.

    The debt payments now in question date back to the 2001 crisis, after which Argentina brokered deal to pay most of its creditors less than they were owed. A handful of creditors –led by hedge funds Elliot Management unit NML Capital and Aurelius Capital Management – refused that deal and are still trying to collect the full amount.

    These holdout creditors had previously sued Argentina in the U.S., winning a decision in federal court in 2012 to force payment on the old bonds while ensuring that Argentina continued to pay off the others with which it had struck a deal. The country appealed the decision all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which, last month, refused to hear the case.

    The mediator, Pollack, added: “Default is not a mere ‘technical’ condition, but rather a real and painful event that will hurt real people: these include all ordinary Argentine citizens, the exchange bondholders (who will not receive their interest ) and the holdouts (who will not receive payment of the judgments they obtained in court).”

    Speaking to reporters after the negotiations ended, Argentine Economy Minister Axel Kicillof said his country refused to reach a deal under “extortion” with a group of bondholders he called “vulture funds,” according to Bloomberg.