Khalil: No Intention to Restructure Debt or Violate Holders Rights
Caretaker Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil stressed Friday that there was “absolutely no intention of touching the value of Lebanese bonds” or to “restructure” the country's debt.
“There is absolutely no intention of touching the value of Lebanese bonds or taking a percentage of them,” Khalil said.
“The proposals are an operation to organize and manage the debt and to move ahead with reform measures that reduce the burden of it,” he clarified, after a media report caused Lebanon’s dollar-denominated sovereign bonds to tumble for a second day.
The media report apparently carried an inaccurate headline that mixed up the words “reschedule” and “restructure.”
Khalil said such a rescheduling would be undertaken in coordination with lenders and the central bank.
There is “no intention to restructure or to violate the rights of holders of sovereign debt instruments in any way at all,” the minister stressed.
11 January 2019, 18:59
02
Play on words as much as you like but people are not fooled. Lebanon's economy is in a shambles and the treasury is on the verge of total bankruptcy.
12 January 2019, 01:47
03
Banks provide liquidity to the treasury to service the national debt. This liquidity comes from bank deposits (people's money). The example you provided shows how tight the situation is. What Khalil is referring to is Lebanon's inability to service its debt and pay the creditors on time. Hence, the request to reschedule the debt. It is a precursor to default.
