And in other big news from Belmopan, the government has extended its offer to bondholders. As we told you, that offer - known as a consent solicitation - is to bring the interest rate down to a uniform 4% from 6.7%, and to defer the principal payments to the years 2036, 2037, and 2039. The deadline for bondholders to accept it was today at 5:00 pm New York Time. Well, right around that time, we saw this release on the government website.
It says, quote, "The Government of Belize today extended the period during which holders of Belize's U.S. Dollar Bonds due 2038 may respond to the Government's January 12, 2017 Consent Solicitation Statement….The offer will now remain open until 5:00 pm (New York time) on Friday, February 3, 2017." End quote.
So that's basically a one-week extension. It suggests that either the bondholders aren't biting on government's offer, or that they are only nibbling at it. But the release stresses, quote, "Belize has proposed no other amendments to the terms of the 2038 Bonds. In particular, Belize has not proposed any reduction in the principal amount due under the instruments nor has it asked for an extension of the final maturity date of the Bonds." End quote.
So while the bondholders have officially declined the offer last week, government is also holding to its guns - and so basically, right now, it's seems to be a test to see who blinks first.
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