Local News

There has been no announcement of an official consensus with Belize’s external creditors on the bond exchange offer announced earlier this year.  Today is the expiration of a thirty day grace period after Belize failed to make a forty five million dollar interest payment.  The head of the government’s renegotiating team ambassador Mark Espat has been unavailable for comment on the looming default deadline or the progress of the negotiations; but Love News understands that there has been some progress in the negotiations, although a final agreement remains elusive.  Ambassador Espat is quoted by Reuters News Agency as saying that Belize does not have the capacity to repay the super bond on the current terms and that only a debt relief would allow Belize meet its debt obligations. Espat told Reuters that government expects negotiations to proceed after the expiration of the 30-day grace period and that transparent and good-faith negotiations is the only viable pathway for a fair resolution of Belize's unsustainable debt burden.

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