Uruguay informed the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) that it will prepay approximately $430 million (€362.04 million) debts to the two multilateral lenders, the Uruguayan Minister of Economy, Danilo Astori, said on February 16, 2006.
The prepayment concerns extraordinary loans, taken by Uruguay during the economic-financial crisis in 2002.
Uruguay has decided recently not to follow the policy, implemented by Brazil and Argentina, to cancel all of its debts with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Despite that Uruguay wants to decrease the pressure of debts with various multilateral lenders.
Uruguay will prepay $300 million (€252.6 million) debts with IADB and $130 million (€109.46 million) with the World Bank.
Uruguay has not taken a decision to cancel its debts with the IMF.
The Government of Uruguay completed successfully the placement of a $500 million (€421 million) bond issue on the international market, the Latin America News Digest said on January 25, 2006.
The issue, the highest ever placed by Uruguay, falls due in 2022 and bears an interest rate of 7.52 %. A total 97 % of the issue was placed in the United States and Europe, and the remaining 3.0 % were sold to some 150 local investors.