Default day looms for cash-strapped Venezuela
Caracas, (MILLAT ONLINE):Venezuela slipped inexorably towards a formal debt default Friday, with analysts saying it was all but inevitable for the sinking OPEC state which owes about $150 billion.
“With Venezuela’s state-owned oil company having reportedly failed to make a principal payment on a bond that has now matured, credit default swaps are likely to be triggered on Friday,” market analysts Capital Economics said.
A group of creditors assembled under the aegis of a global financial body, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), will meet in New York at 11:00 am (1600 GMT) to review whether an overdue $1.1 billion payment on a bond issued by Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA has triggered a “credit event.”
“They can either make a decision at this meeting or vote to have another meeting to discuss the question further,” an ISDA spokeswoman told AFP by email.