Ecuador Wins Creditor Backing for Restructuring US $17 Billion

HAVANA TIMES – Ecuador has won the backing of most of its creditors to restructure about 17 billion dollars in debt, reported dpa news on Monday.

The deal will reduce debt by about 1.5 billion dollars and cut interest rate to 5.3 from 9.2 per cent, daily El Telegrafo reported.

It also includes doubling the repayment period to 12.7 years, as well as a five-year grace period for capital and two years for interest payments.

“More than 97 per cent of bond holders backed the renegotiation of our foreign debt. We shall dispose of resources to attend to the most vulnerable … and to reactivate the economy,” President Lenin Moreno tweeted.

The South American country launched debt restructuring talks after the coronavirus pandemic and a fall in oil prices hit its economy.