U.S. Treasury Backs Poland's Buyback Plan

Yahoo!News ^ | Wed, Mar 23, 2005

[lizol]

U.S. Treasury Backs Poland's Buyback Plan

1 hour, 11 minutes ago Europe - AP

PARIS - The United States will take part in Poland's plan to buy back a large chunk of its $16 billion in Communist-era debt, a U.S. Treasury undersecretary said Wednesday.

Poland reached a deal with the Paris Club — an informal group of sovereign creditors — last month to repurchase most of its debt at par value. Club member states now must decide whether to participate in the plan in which Poland will buy back its debt with cash and bonds.

Poland has said it hopes to release a list of countries that have accepted the plan before the end of the month. Out of the Paris Club's 19 members, all but three hold Communist-era debt owed by Poland.

John Taylor, Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs, said a similar buyback proposal from Russia needs more work.

"The Polish buyback has been agreed upon," he told Dow Jones Newswires. "Talks with Russia are less advanced."

So far, Russia has made little headway on its effort to buy back $45 billion of sovereign debt as creditors continue to contemplate how much future interest payment they should forgive.

With the buyback, Poland hopes to save on the high, often fixed-interest rates it pays on the debt. The proposal is attractive for some creditors, such as Germany, which are grappling with a bulging budget deficit and would have an immediate use for cash from Poland.

Taylor, who is stepping down next month after four years in the post, was in the capital for talks with officials at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.