The General Director of Investment and Public Credit, Marlon Herrera, commented that the conversion of medium or long term debt requires the Ministry of Finance to obtain resources up to the amount of US$1,000 million, through the issuance of Credit Securities to be placed indistinctly in the national, regional or international market.

The request also includes the authority to manage a bridge loan to serve as a tool to develop this operation, which will be paid in full when the issuance is completed.

Luis Sánchez Castro, Director of Economic and Fiscal Policy of the Ministry of Finance, expressed that by the end of 2022 the fiscal situation has improved considerably, with positive primary balances for the first time after the pandemic, around 2%, the fiscal deficit was reduced from -5.6% to -2.7% and the debt has had a decrease of around 60.8%.

Both directors agreed that the Government has made progress in its liability management strategy to further improve the state of public finances and contribute to the country's fiscal balance.

This expertise has had convincing results, such as the early purchase of Eurobonds in 2022, which generated savings of almost $300 million in amortization and interest.

Therefore, following the development of this policy, the conversion of short term debt to medium and long term debt is proposed, which consists of taking a debt issued with a maximum interval of one year and then transferring it.

Translated by: A.M