(Bloomberg) — Venezuela’s government has hired Rothschild & Co. as a financial adviser to provide an overview of its foreign debt obligations, according to sources with direct knowledge.
Rothschild is working to determine what the administration owes and to whom, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because it was a contract that has not been made public. Debt mapping is normally a preliminary step taken by a government before preparing to start a restructuring.
Representatives for Paris-based Rothschild declined to comment. A press official at Venezuela’s Ministry of Economy and Finance did not respond to messages seeking comment.
Venezuela owes about $154 billion to foreign entities, according to an estimate by economist Francisco Rodriguez, a professor at the University of Denver, including global bonds issued by the government and the state-owned oil company, which have been in default for more than six years. The country has been accumulating interest on those bonds and court judgments for defaulted commercial loans.
Sovereign bonds trade at about 20 cents, while defaulted securities issued by Petroleos de Venezuela SA change hands at around 11 cents, according to indicative prices compiled by Bloomberg. Debt has risen since JPMorgan Chase & Co. unveiled a plan in February to relist the securities in widely followed emerging market debt indexes.
The Rothschild hiring comes amid a recent push by President Nicolas Maduro’s government to reengage with global markets, multilateral institutions and rating agencies after years of international isolation. Over the years, the president has hinted that he was willing to work with creditors, though talks have never progressed.
https://es-us.finanzas.yahoo.com/noticias/venezuela-contrata-rothschild-asesor-deuda-125119946.html