Central Bank talks about upcoming Superbond meeting
Aside from crime, there is the Superbond for which there has been international backlash after government did not make a forty-six million dollar coupon payment that was due on August twentieth. The debt review team is making its media rounds after concluding talks in Washington with the IMF. The governor of the Central Bank, Glen Ysaguirre and the deputy governor, Christine Vellos, say that it is likely that a deal will be worked out with bondholders, even after the September nineteenth grace period expires. According to Ysaguirre, the first face to face meeting with the bondholders is expected to be convened either late next week or early in September and a definitive offer should be on the table by the middle or ending of the month. He says that an extension of the grace period may be an option, depending on how negotiations are going at that point. We asked him about the expectations for the meeting with bondholders.
Glen Ysaguirre, Governor, Central Bank of Belize
Glen Ysaguirre
“The expectation would be that the creditors would then hear our case, we sit down with them and go through the numbers; we want to be able to verify those numbers and that is one role that we expect the IMF to play. We are seeking from the IMF actually a letter of assessment of the conditions that Belize is facing in terms of its fiscal numbers and its macro numbers and for them to indicate whether or not those are realistic given what they know. They have been monitoring the country under the article four provisions—they monitor all countries—and they provide this kind of information for general use. So at that meeting that is what is expected to happen. The creditors may very well make some suggestions to the scenarios we put there. The scenarios that the government presented are three scenarios; I think two with a haircut of forty-five percent and various introductions of interest rates and grace periods and then there is a par value option with an extended maturity. The creditors do not necessarily have to accept those, but what we are saying, having produced our numbers and worked out the gaps that unless we get something that gives us a return similar to those, we would not have the capacity to service the debt. You could come close or you could make some adjustments here or there, we are interested to see what those will be but we will need to come close to what is presented there, otherwise it will be something that would not be sustainable for us and we would only be again kicking the pan down the road and we do not want to accept an option that is not sustainable.”
Creditors will not agree to negotiate under those terms. There will be a hard default on September 19, and Barrow will be to blame.
Mark Espat will be a failed bond adviser and will never become our PM. Belizeans will see through him.
Should the bondholders take into account the money that has just disappeared from our cookie jar? Drunken sailors could do a better job with our treasury than GOB has done over the last decade or more.
“money that has just disappeared”..
I really wonder where some people get their schooling from…smh
When a Budget is drawn up & delivered, the numbers mentioned is not money that is being held in a magic safe. The numbers of a budget are based on the “projected” revenues the government believes it will earn or collect. There are many factors which can lead to those numbers not being met, including tax dodgers.
If Belize is willing to have the IMF look at it’s books, what makes you all think the government has something to hide. I can understand you not trusting the government bookkeeper but do u think they are smart enough to trick the IMF aka the Grim-reaper. I think not.
I really think most of you posters post idiotic comments for pure shock value because i can believe that sensible adults actually think like you write.
B jones you are a moron no wonder this country is in the gutter with idiots like you voting no wonder damm tha whey all a unu come from worse pm and gov. In the history of his great nation.
Ok Mr. Jones since you know it all. Why do you get all emotional on other people’s opinions? That is their opinions and you, nor me , nor any government can criticize or “go off” about it. This site is intended to post comments whether those comments you like or not.
Back to the subject. Bondholders are seasoned investors and it will be up to them to accept’s GOB’s negotiation efforts or not. Remember bondholders will only worry about their returns. The country of Belize is already placed in a bad spot and GOB will begin finding new ways of gaining the funds. The world is watching us closely with a magnifying glass. As you noticed gas prices already skyrocketed to the roof and GOB will begin taxing the Belizean people. Private sector will also be taxed. However, these “short-termism” methods can gain the funds GOB needs, but in the end only us Belizeans will feel the burden.
yes the past is important and most of the superbond money was stolen from us the people. I know ministters and cronies from the past administration who spent lavishly on girlfriends and sweethearts and on everything else with our money and now its coming back to haunt us. its important to understand how we got here and who to blame so that they are never in a position to hurt us like that again., i always say u will never put the guy who breaks into your house to build your burglar bars.
Set aside your comments about other people, B. Jones, are YOU happy with our national financial situation? Do YOU think GOB is providing prudent stewardship of our treasury?
You’re right that a budget is a projection, but most governments do the best, most real job they can projecting revenue, instead of putting up imaginary numbers so no budget is ever real. GOB has a long history of totally imaginary budgets, so there can never be fiscal responsibility, hence our current disaster.
But I’ll bet you this: if there is a full IMF audit of our national books — and almost every Belizean craves someone will audit the books– it will prove quite a bit of money misappropriated, misspent, or just plain gone. Is it a bet?
Dear Media, do a better job on getting to the real story, all I hear from the PM and negotiating team is about sophisticated investors, investment bankers etc…, but typically they work with the common mans money such as pension funds for teacher’s, steel workers, auto workers, etc… I want to know who the investors are. I want to see a face of the human side of this crisis, I was told even American Belizeans have invested in this bond? If this is the case; So our GOB is telling the small hard working people that has worked for 30 years plus and waiting on our payment for their retirement, sorry your investment in Belize now is only worth about 18cents on the dollar? Our GOB is asking Bond holders to sacrifice with this loss, when it’s common knowledge about the election giveaways, new rides for the Ministers, loan forgiveness scam, and all the land corruption, totally in the mega-millions? How can we ask people that were willing to invest in our country, and now we tell them you have to sacrifice, when our GOB has not set the example of any sacrifice? Even BNE is advertising WHY doesn’t GOB want any more oil money from new production? Then you can’t cry we no have money! Think about it people!!!
Mr. a Jew….I don’t get “all emotional” on other people “opinions”. I get annoyed and irritated with bone-head posters who post baseless accusations and lies in order to slander others.
you are 100% correct, bond holders are seasoned investors & being seasoned investors they are well aware of the risks involved when investing in bonds being floated by a 3rd world country. why do you think the interest on the bonds were so high? do you think it was because the bonds were AAA rated ?….lol.. The bond business is not the same thing as a general Loan a person or business would get from a bank. The bond business is a game and low rated bonds gets played out like this most of the times.
The Government will pay the bond holders, the question & problem now is at what negotiated price. The bond holders have already made a profit from the previous payments the government has already made. The bond holders now need to desire if they will go home with their shirts (par valueore hand likely) or go home losing their shirt, because they tried to kill the pig. Common sense say they will take their shirt and be happy with the reduced profits they already made
Belize will be in the dog house for a few years & recover, new lenders will be at the gate again, & PUP will be back in power, they will borrow from the same investors, but the next time they will sure-up the investors with guarantees
b. Jones and bernadette, sure one cannot ignore the sins of the past PUP administration, but that is what elections are for and that was taken care of in 2008. How long must an incompetent and (yes!) also corrupt government be given a pass just because “the others” did wrong? And if you were a retiring teacher whose pension fund is getting hosed due to Belizean bonds in it, would u be happy to know that the same country that KNEW it already had debt obligations nevertheless acquired utility companies for hundreds of millions in more obligations, gave away untold millions for votes, paid untold millions in legal fees to relatives to fight all kinds of cases that had nothing to do with growing the economy, and wrote off millions in loans to win votes? They must think this government had it covered, and was swimming in dough, or else just never intended to try and pay in the first place.
Think about it, you got it!!!, maybe GOB is using the super bond discount to pay for the BEL and BTL takeover, which means it’s really USA investors that are paying for the political take over, if that’s the case by all rights they own them, since it’s their money that’s paying for them? Does that sound legal? Was this the plan all the time? Now who will want to invest in Belize, where the laws, constitution, contracts, and bonds are written in pencil? but corruption is set in concrete!!