Argentina Issues Dollar Bonds to Help Companies Pay Old Foreign Debts

Argentina’s Central Bank has taken a new step to help companies pay off old debts they owe to foreign suppliers and move profits out of the country.

On June 18, 2025, the bank sold $810 million worth of special bonds called BOPREAL. These bonds are part of a bigger plan to fix problems caused by years of tight currency controls and a shortage of US dollars.

Many Argentine companies built up debts in 2023 because the country’s dollar reserves were so low that they could not buy the foreign currency needed to pay for imports or send profits abroad.

As a result, the total debt that companies owe for imports reached $57.3 billion by late 2024. Companies also could not send about $7 billion in profits (dividends) to their parent companies outside Argentina.

The BOPREAL bonds are designed to help solve these problems. Companies can buy these bonds using Argentine pesos. The bonds are worth US dollars, pay 3% interest per year, and mature in three years.

BOPREAL Bonds Tackle Argentina’s Dollar Debt

Companies can use them to pay off debts to foreign suppliers, move profits out of the country, or even pay some taxes and customs bills. This approach lets companies deal with their debts without putting more pressure on Argentina’s limited dollar reserves.

It also helps the Central Bank by reducing the amount of pesos in the market, which can help control inflation. The government hopes this plan will restore trust among foreign businesses and investors, who have been worried about getting paid or moving money out of Argentina.

So far, the program has helped lower the amount of unpaid importer debt by more than $3.3 billion in early 2025, but the total debt remains high.

Argentina’s challenge is to keep its economy running while slowly fixing these deep currency problems. The BOPREAL bonds are a tool to help companies and the country move forward, but the road to normal business conditions is still long.

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