Post by conflict on Aug 10, 2016 1:47:47 GMT 4
On July 1 and 11, 2016, the Central Bank of Argentina issued
Communiqués "A" 6003 and "A" 6011,
respectively, through which foreign exchange access and settlement
regulations have been simplified.
Communiqué "A" 6003, in force since July 1
2016, has provided an extension of up to 365 calendar days of the
term to repatriate proceeds in the following cases:
- the foreign currency proceeds
received by Argentine residents for the export of services and
claim collections related to insurance policies hired from
non-Argentine residents, provided that they are not for
international trade of goods; before, this term could not exceed 15
business days as from the date of receipt abroad or in Argentina,
or from the date of accreditation in foreign accounts, of the
export proceeds. - the foreign currency proceeds
received by Argentine residents from the sale or transfer of
non-produced and non-financial assets (such as trademarks, patents,
copyrights, among others); before, this term could not exceed 30
calendar days as from the date of receipt abroad or in Argentina,
or from the date of accreditation in foreign accounts, of the
export proceeds.
The above-mentioned measures shall apply to amounts collected
from the date of entry in force of this Communiqué, as well
as to the amounts previously received the settlement term of which
were not expired.
This Communiqué authorizes access to the Argentine
foreign exchange market in order to prepay, total or partially,
import debts without limitation.
Furthermore, requirements to prepay principal of financial debt
also have been simplified. This regulation states that: (i) in the
case of prepayments (more than 10 calendar days in advance) of
bonds or other debt securities, access to the foreign exchange
market is allowed for redemption and prepayment for amounts
exceeding the nominal value, as long as this transaction reflects
market conditions; and (ii) prepayment of financial debts with
multilateral credit agencies and foreign banks may be carried out
through the foreign exchange market as long as the respective
financial entity evaluates the reasonableness of the amounts.
On the other hand, Argentine residents are authorized to access
the foreign exchange market, without any limits, to purchase
foreign currency to make capital contributions or acquire shares of
companies provided that they qualify as direct foreign investments,
and are related to the development of productive activities of
goods and non-financial services.
Moreover, this regulation eliminated the requirement to settle
foreign debt proceeds for purposes of accessing the foreign
exchange market to repay them, provided that the proceeds of the
new foreign debt were applied by the Argentine resident debtor to
the repayment abroad of other foreign debts only if such debtor
would have had access to the foreign exchange market to repay
it.
Lastly, the Central Bank has established specific provisions
related to the issuances of bonds and other debt securities carried
out jointly by two or more agents that act as joint debtors. It
also enables local financial entities to access the Argentine
foreign exchange market not only for the primary subscription of
bonds, but also for other debt instruments denominated in foreign
currency.