Argentina's Finance Ministry confirmed that they will make an offer to the U.S. hedge funds to settle the current legal battle that caused the country to be excluded in global credits market. The Argentine government stated that they are committed to settle the dispute during the last week of January.
As reported by Morning Star, the plan to make an offer came after a meeting last Wednesday where Argentina resumed talks with the U.S. hedge funds. The meeting was held at the office of Judge Thomas Griesa's appointed mediator, Daniel Pollack.
The said meeting was attended by the representatives of U.S. hedge funds including Elliot Management Corp., which is headed by Paul Singer, as well as thee Aurelius Capital Management LP who sued Argentina in US Courts.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Finance Ministry affirmed that they are committed to resolve the long legal dispute which has affected their company.
"The Argentine government has committed itself to making an offer to solve the judicial dispute during the week of January 25 expecting that at the same time the other party will present its own negotiating proposal," the Ministry stated.
The lawsuit was filed by U.S. hedge funds after Argentina defaulted on its debts in 2001. According to Seeking Alpha, both parties last negotiated in July 2014 when then-incumbent President Cristina Kirchner refused to follow the order to pay the creditors in full.
The former president's approach to the problem gained criticism from Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay who asserted that Kirchner's decision only lead to the further increase of the amount of their debt. The Finance Minister stated that Kirchner's decision not to pay increased their interest to $6 billion to their original amount owed of $2.9 billion.
The Finance Minister also stated that reaching a deal won't be happen overnight. The legal dispute has prevented Argentina's economy to grow which is currently suffering from double-digit inflation. They are also hoping to settle the issues in order to attract more investments.
