By Jorgelina do Rosario
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina is set to receive financing from the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) to make a $913 million payment due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next week, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Argentina, whose $44 billion IMF programme makes it the largest debtor to the fund, is due to make the capital payment on Dec. 21.
Latin America’s second largest economy suffers from deeply negative reserves and had to make use of loans from CAF as well as Qatar, and a swapline with China’s central bank to make recent payments to the fund on time.
A spokesperson for President Javier Milei and for CAF did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
New Economy Minister Luis Caputo met with CAF’s Executive President Sergio Diaz-Granados on Monday, according to one source.
All financing by CAF will need to be signed off by the board of the lender.
Caputo said in an interview televised on Wednesday evening that the government would make the payment to the IMF, but did not detail how the payment would be made.
On Tuesday, Caputo announced a slate of economic measures including a more than 50% devaluation of the peso to 800 per U.S. dollar and energy and transportation subsidy cuts.
(Reporting by Jorgelina do Rosario in Buenos Aires, writing by Karin Strohecker in London, editing by Elisa Martinuzzi)
