{"id":2289,"date":"2018-10-26T02:21:16","date_gmt":"2018-10-26T02:21:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/?p=2289"},"modified":"2018-10-26T02:21:16","modified_gmt":"2018-10-26T02:21:16","slug":"cuba-makes-debt-payment-to-western-nations-10-swaps-signed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/2018\/10\/26\/cuba-makes-debt-payment-to-western-nations-10-swaps-signed\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuba makes debt payment to Western nations, 10 swaps signed"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ArticleHeader_container\">\n<div class=\"ArticleHeader_upper-container\">\n<div class=\"foreground\">\n<div class=\"TwoColumnLayout_container TwoColumnLayout_fluid-left\">\n<div class=\"TwoColumnLayout_column TwoColumnLayout_left\">\n<div class=\"ArticleHeader_content-container\">\n<h1 class=\"ArticleHeader_headline\">Cuba makes debt payment to Western nations, 10 swaps signed<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"TwoColumnLayout_column TwoColumnLayout_right\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lower-container\">\n<div class=\"TwoColumnLayout_container inner TwoColumnLayout_fluid-left\">\n<div class=\"TwoColumnLayout_column TwoColumnLayout_left\">\n<div class=\"ArticleHeader_content-container\">\n<div class=\"BylineBar_first-container ArticleHeader_byline-bar\">\n<div class=\"BylineBar_border-wrap\">\n<div class=\"BylineBar_byline\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/journalists\/marc-frank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Marc Frank<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"BylineBar_last-container\">\n<p class=\"BylineBar_reading-time\">4 MIN READ<\/p>\n<div class=\"BylineBar_share-container\">\n<div class=\"SocialTool_container\">\n<ul>\n<li><\/li>\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"TwoColumnLayout_column TwoColumnLayout_right\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"TwoColumnLayout_container StandardArticle_content TwoColumnLayout_fluid-left\">\n<div class=\"TwoColumnLayout_column TwoColumnLayout_left\">\n<div class=\"StandardArticleBody_container\">\n<div class=\"StandardArticleBody_body\">\n<p>HAVANA (Reuters) &#8211; Cuba paid a third installment on its renegotiated $2.6 billion debt to 14 creditor nations this week, diplomats said, adding that Havana had also signed 10 investment deals as part of a debt swap with creditors, the first since the Revolution.<\/p>\n<p>Cuba reached an agreement in 2015 with members of the Paris Club of wealthy creditor nations that forgave $8.5 billion of the $11.1 billion in debt it defaulted on through 1986, as well as charges.<\/p>\n<p>Repayment of the remaining debt was backloaded through 2033. Cuba paid around $60 million last year and a further $70 million was due by Oct. 31.<\/p>\n<p>The deal was signed as U.S.-Cuba relations improved under then-U.S. President Barack Obama, underpinning improved relations with other Western nations. Cuba, which has been under Communist rule since 1959, is not a member of the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank.<\/p>\n<p>Under the terms of the Paris Club agreement, creditor nations can sell or exchange a large proportion of the remaining debt.<\/p>\n<p>Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland have all renegotiated their debt bilaterally since 2015.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"DPSlot_container StandardArticleBody_dp-slot-inline\">\n<p>SPONSORED<\/p>\n<div id=\"dpslot_canvas_12173195_USKCN1MZ260\" class=\"DPSlot_ad-container\">\n<div class=\"teads-inread sm-screen\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"teads-ui-components-adchoices\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"teads-ui-components-label\">ADVERTISING<\/div>\n<div id=\"teads1\" class=\"teads-player\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The agreements often included the establishment of countervalue funds, where a percentage of money owed is discounted for local joint-development projects.<\/p>\n<p>The countervalue funds have an estimated combined value of around $750 million of the $2.6 billion owed, according to various public statements by the governments involved and diplomats.<\/p>\n<p>Spain and France, two of the largest creditors, are the only countries to have successfully negotiated swaps to date, according to diplomatic and business sources with direct knowledge of the agreements.<\/p>\n<p>Spain has signed nine projects supporting joint ventures and other Spanish initiatives for manufacturing cardboard boxes, aluminum structures, railway services, scaffolding and other items to which Cuba contributed the equivalent of a bit more than $24 million from the fund.<\/p>\n<p>A $46 million French project to develop cattle ranching and dairy products in central Camaguey province is up and running in conjunction with France\u2019s development bank and to which Cuba contributed the equivalent of $6 million.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"DPSlot_container StandardArticleBody_dp-slot-inline\">\n<div id=\"dpslot_native_4791601_USKCN1MZ260\" class=\"DPSlot_ad-container\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/4735792\/us.reuters\/world\/article_4__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The sources said other projects, including infrastructure, were under discussion and could also involve EU and regional development banks.<\/p>\n<p>Western diplomats said this week\u2019s payment showed the importance Cuba attaches to the accord at a moment when it is short of cash due to the crisis in ally Venezuela. Cuba has also suffered a decline in export earnings and tourism, heightened tension with the United States under President Donald Trump and damage from extreme weather such as hurricanes.<\/p>\n<p>Cuba has published some sparse data on its current account and foreign debt only through 2015, citing the comprehensive U.S. sanction regime.<\/p>\n<p>Diplomats expressed concern that while Cuba was keeping relatively up to date with old and new debt to their governments, it was late with payments to some suppliers and joint venture partners.<\/p>\n<p>Cuba also defaulted on debt to private companies in 1986; some of that remains outstanding.<\/p>\n<p>Holders of around 50 percent of Cuba\u2019s defaulted commercial debt through 1986, with a face value of $1.4 billion, announced in February that they had made an offer to Cuba in line with the Paris Club accord.<\/p>\n<div class=\"SmallVideo_small-video SmallVideo_left\">\n<div class=\"Video_container\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"SmallVideo_title-caption\"><span class=\"SmallVideo_title\">Winners, losers from new USMCA trade deal<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe Cuban government ignored the proposal,\u201d said Rodrigo Olivares-Caminal, coordinator of the creditor group and a law professor at London\u2019s Queen Mary University.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome creditors might still consider litigation,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<div class=\"Attribution_container\">\n<div class=\"Attribution_attribution\">\n<p class=\"Attribution_content\">Reporting by Marc Frank; editing by Jonathan Oatis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"StandardArticleBody_trustBadgeContainer\"><span class=\"StandardArticleBody_trustBadgeTitle\">Our Standards:<\/span><span class=\"trustBadgeUrl\"><a href=\"http:\/\/thomsonreuters.com\/en\/about-us\/trust-principles.html\">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cuba makes debt payment to Western nations, 10 swaps signed Marc Frank 4 MIN READ HAVANA (Reuters) &#8211; Cuba paid a third installment on its renegotiated $2.6 billion debt to 14 creditor nations this week, diplomats said, adding that Havana had also signed 10 investment deals as part of a debt swap with creditors, the first since the Revolution. Cuba&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/2018\/10\/26\/cuba-makes-debt-payment-to-western-nations-10-swaps-signed\/\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":115,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/115"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2289"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2290,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2289\/revisions\/2290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}