The delicate situation of the commercial debt for imports represents one of the main issues to be resolved by the Government to achieve the elimination of the exchange rate. Given the restrictions on access to dollars to pay for purchases abroad that began at the end of 2022 and deepened throughout 2023, the debt of importers rose to US$62,000 million, between goods and services. In this framework, the Central Bank launched a bond aimed at settling these commitments called Bopreal (bonus for the reconstruction of a Free Argentina).
In its first tender, last week, Bopreal did not have the demand expected by the economic team since only 9% of what was offered was placed. This Wednesday and Thursday the BCRA faces a second tender for these titles for which it added incentives to encourage demand for them given the meager initial result.
Last Tuesday, the Central published on its website a guide for importers with data to subscribe to Bopreal. In the first tender for this bond, there was little appetite: companies demanded only 9% (US$68 million) of the US$750 million offered. Now, the entity faces a second test for the same amount.
Among the reasons for the low initial demand, Andrés Reschini, analyst at F2 Soluciones Financieras, highlighted that “they were not able to seduce the market in the first tender mainly because the gap in those days reached 8% and it is possible that this made it less attractive.”
For its part, Julio Roque Calcagnino, research analyst at TSA Bursátil, pointed out another factor: “The low demand would be because only 24 hours before the tender, the AFIP enabled the importers’ debt register. Access is still very complex, although in the long run it will work, since there is no other way to pay the stock of debt in force as of December 13. Likewise, doubts persist regarding the interpretation of the regulations that regulate them and conflicting opinions among the different market players, which naturally undermines the generation of demand for these titles.”
Bopreal: new “sweeteners” from the BCRA
After last week’s weak result, the BCRA added two incentives to the bonds, through Communication “A” 7935: “The extension until January 31, 2024 of the benefit of access to the Free Exchange Market as of February 1, 2024 to cancel debts for imports pending as of December 12, 2023 for up to 5% of the nominal value of Bopreal Series 1 acquired in primary bidding, to the extent that the aggregate is at least 50% of the total debt for said importer; and the possibility of accessing foreign currency as of April 1, 2024 through the sale of securities with settlement in foreign currency for up to the amount equivalent to the difference between the nominal value of Bopreal Series 1 acquired in primary bidding and the value obtained by their settlement in foreign currency abroad.”
The BCRA seeks to make Bopreal more attractive to shore up demand and begin to clear the stock of commercial debt, which grew exponentially in mid-2023 when the drought slowed the inflow of dollars, and to stretch dollar commitments over time in the face of scarce resources. reserves in the body’s coffers. These bonds are subscribed in pesos and are payable in dollars, with terms that go until 2027.
Maximiliano Suárez, financial analyst, pointed out: “The BCRA encourages these bonds to organize and keep track of how much demand there is for dollars from importers. If there is a large appetite for Bopreal, it may indicate that, if the instrument did not exist, that demand would be transferred directly to dollars. In addition, the instrument allows you to decompress demand because the BCRA is committed to delivering the foreign currency, but within a period that goes until 2027, with which the importer can rest assured that he will regularize his debt without being exposed to fluctuations in the rate. of exchange, since they import in dollars, but sell in pesos. On the other hand, Bopreal becomes a hedging instrument that ensures payment, but at the same time allows the BCRA to defer the effective delivery of foreign currency. Obviously, since they are bonds, they can be sold on the secondary market and the importer can obtain dollars. If the changes they made were appropriate, they are instruments that will become attractive to the sector and will help to get an idea of how much demand for coverage there is.”
For his part, Calcagnino considered that “the attraction of Bopreal is that they provide a dollarized investment alternative to the ‘immobilized pesos’ of importers, of which surely a non-negligible portion is found in term bank deposits.” And He added: “The eventual disarmament of these deposits favors the consequent disarmament of liabilities remunerated in pesos of the BCRA, which are one of the impediments (according to the Government) to normalize the exchange market, at the expense of the Central assuming liabilities in currency foreign on its balance sheet.”
Source: Ambito
