阿根廷和债权人达成和解 Argentine debt blockade set to end after settlement with holdouts

Argentina is poised to return to internationAl capital markets after a 15-year ban as it finally reached agreement with a group of creditors led by Paul Singer’s Elliott Management.

在遭禁15年以后，阿根廷终于和以保罗鬠格(Paul Singer)的埃利奥特资本管理公司(Elliott Management Corp)为首的一组债权人达成协议，准备重回国际资本市场。

The deal, which needs approval by Argentine lawmakers, is to pay $4.653bn to settle all claims with four “holdouts” that refused to restructure debt after the country’s 2001 default.

该协议还需要阿根廷国会的批准。根据协议，阿根廷需要支付46.53亿美元，以结清4个“钉子户”债权人的所有偿付要求。这些债权人在该国2001年违约后拒绝接受债务重组。

During the 15-year legal battle creditors have attempted to embargo everything from navy frigates to satellite launches to claw back the money a New York court said they were owed from defaulted bonds.

在15年的诉讼战期间，债权人尝试阻挠从阿根廷海军护卫舰到卫星发射的一切事物，以拿回纽约一个法庭宣称阿根廷的违约债券对他们欠下的钱。

Argentina suffered a second technical default in 2014 after New York judge Thomas Griesa said it was forbidden from servicing its restructured debt abroad without paying the holdout creditors first.

2014年，纽约法官托马斯格里萨(Thomas Griesa)声称阿根廷在偿付钉子户债权人之前，禁止在国外支付其重组后债务的利息，导致阿根廷出现第二次技术性违约。

The agreement is a victory for Mauricio Macri, the Argentine president, who took office on December 10, after he made ending the legal battle against holdout funds one of his campaign promises.

达成这项协议对12月10日上任的阿根廷总统毛里西奥氠克里(Mauricio Macri)而言是一次胜利，此前他曾将结束和钉子户债权人的诉讼战作为一项竞选承诺。

Elliott welcomed the agreement. “We are hopeful the completed negotiations... cleared the way for other plaintiffs to reach satisfactory resolutions as well,” it said.

埃利奥特资本管理公司对这项协议表示欢迎。“我们希望完成协商……将给其他原告达成令人满意的解决方案铺平道路，”该公司表示。

To lift the financial blockade on Argentina, the country’s congress must approve the deal and lift two laws that prevent the country from paying creditors who had rejected the 2005 and 2010 restructurings. Analysts and allies of Mr Macri are optimistic that they have the necessary votes to pass the measures once Congress resumes today.

要解除对阿根廷的金融封锁，该国国会必须批准这项协议，并取消两项阻止该国向拒绝2005年和2010年重组方案的债权人偿债的法律。分析人士和马克里的盟友乐观地认为，他们能在今天国会重开之后立即获得必要的票数以通过这些举措。

After issuing decision after decision against Argentina, the judicial tables began to turn in favour of the country last month when the new government offered to pay about $6.5bn in cash to the holdouts for claims of $9bn.

在发布一项又一项针对阿根廷的决议后，在新政府提出为钉子户债权人90亿美元的偿付要求支付约65亿美元现金以后，上个月司法方面开始转为支持该国。

“Put simply, President Macri’s election changed everything,” wrote Judge Griesa on February 19 after he agreed in principle to lift the injunction.

“简单的说，马克里总统赢得竞选改变了一切，”原则上同意解除禁令后，格里萨法官在2月19日写道。

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Mr Macri’s predecessor, had refused to negotiate with the holdouts, frequently referring to them as “vultures”.

马克里的前任克里斯蒂娜费尔南德斯德基什内尔(Cristina Fernández de Kirchner)曾拒绝与钉子户债权人协商，经常将他们称为“兀鹫”。

The deal with the four biggest creditors means that agreements in principle have been reached with bondholders who hold more than 85 per cent of the claims against Argentina that have favourable rulings in US courts, according to mediator Daniel Pollack.

调解人丹尼尔波拉克(Daniel Pollack)表示，与四个最大债权人达成协议意味着，阿根廷原则上与在美国法庭获得有利判决、拥有超过85%偿付要求的债券持有人达成了一致。

Alfonso Prat-Gay, the Argentine finance minister, has said the country plans to issue $15bn in debt to fund the payments without dipping into reserves. As part of the agreement, the holdouts agree not to try to interfere with that issuance, Mr Pollack said. That is expected to be the first of several issuances by Argentina, provinces and private companies.

阿根廷财长阿方索渠拉特-加伊(Alfonso Prat-Gay)表示，该国计划发行150亿美元的债务，以在不动用储备的情况下为偿付提供资金。作为协议的一部分，钉子户债权人同意不干涉发债，波拉克说。预计这将是阿根廷国家政府、省政府和私人企业的数笔发行中的第一笔。

“This is the equivalent of a giant albatross being lifted from Argentina’s neck and comes just in the nick of time,” said Brett Diment, head of emerging market debt at Aberdeen Asset Management.

“这相当于一个巨大的累赘从阿根廷的脖子上解了下来，而且是在千钧一发之际，”安本资产管理(Aberdeen Asset Management)新兴市场债务主管布雷特戴门特(Brett Diment)表示。