Argentina, 3 Years After Default, to Sell Longer Debt (Update1)

[bemildred]

More proof that the "Washington Consensus" on economic matters
blows chunks in the real world.

Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Argentina plans to sell peso- denominated notes maturing in six years for the first time since the country defaulted on $95 billion of debt, central bank President Martin Redrado said in an interview.

The planned sale reflects a rebound in investor confidence in the country, which has posted two years of economic growth above 8 percent and a record budget surplus. The yield investors demand to purchase Argentina 10-year bonds has declined by 20 percentage points during the past three years.

The appointment in September of Redrado, 43, has helped stoke optimism, and investors such as Dario Pedrajo at Biscayne Americas Advisors in Miami say they may buy longer-term Argentine bonds. A Harvard University educated economist, Redrado earned the nickname ``Golden Boy'' in the early 1990s for his success in promoting the country's capital markets as chief regulator. During his tenure from 1991 to 1994, the Buenos Aires stock index more than tripled, and Argentine companies sold more than $11 billion of new shares.

``Redrado has always been pro-market and what he is doing is helping boost market activity,'' said Miguel Kiguel, a former undersecretary of finance and central bank chief economist who now runs the Center for Financial Stability in Buenos Aires. ``By creating new benchmarks, he will facilitate the government's job of returning to the market.''

Bloomberg