LONDON, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Argentina plans to tap a $7.5 billion disbursement from the International Monetary Fund to repay China part of the money it borrowed through a currency swap line, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.
Latin America’s third-largest economy recently used $2.8 billion equivalent of yuan to cover just over half of two repayments from a 2018 IMF loan, in order to avoid a default to the multilateral lender.
The plans shed some light on the crucial bridge loan that China extended to Buenos Aires via a currency line established with Argentina more than a decade ago, whose details have remained largely secret.
Accessing yuan to make IMF payments offered a lifeline to Argentina, which is battling an acute scarcity of dollars and is struggling to keep alive its $44 billion program with the Fund.
The IMF’s executive board on Wednesday approved two combined reviews of a 2022 loan, which is basically a refinancing line of the failed 2018 program.
Argentina is set to elect a new president in October amid triple-digit inflation and mounting capital controls that have crippled the economy.
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