Argentina's Buenos Aires province extends deadline for debt talks

Argentina's Buenos Aires province extended on Thursday the deadline for debt restructuring talks with its creditors to June 19, saying there could be room for negotiation with its creditors.

The province pushed out the deadline, previously set for Friday, after failing to reach a deal with bondholders, but said in a statement that it would "intensify the dialogue with investors who have not yet accepted the proposal" for about $7.148 billion in debt. "There is a certain margin to introduce changes to the offer and, in turn, respect the sustainability framework drawn up by the province," the province's finance minister, Pablo Lopez, said in a statement, adding that officials remain committed to "good faith" communication in order to arrive at the best possible alternative.

Provincial officials need approval by holders of more than 75% of the debt to move forward with a restructuring proposal. Officials previously invited creditors to submit counter-offers after they rejected the province's original offer. Rating agency S&P Global cut Buenos Aires's credit rating to "SD" from "CC" after the province missed the deadline for about a $110 million bond payment on May 14.

The provincial debt crunch hits as the federal government has still not hammered out a restructuring deal on about $65 billion in sovereign bonds, leading to the nation's ninth sovereign default in May.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)