Argentina has put on hold policies and incentives for ramping up oil production from the Vaca Muerta shale play as a global glut of crude supplies curbs export opportunities, Production Minister Matias Kulfas said.
Nucleoeléctrica Argentina will continue with its nuclear plan and will focus on nuclear power generation as one of the reserves of power and energy. “This sector is fundamental and vital for the interests of the country,” said the Energy Secretary Sergio Lanziani.
Argentina’s Central Bank has developed a private blockchain for payments based on IOV Labs’ Bitcoin smart contract network. The bank will test the network to track the status of claims and payments in real time.
Argentina’s foreign trade fell 17.6% in March, compared to a year-ago. The trade flow reached US$7.49 billion. While exports fell 15.9% to US$4.32 billion, imports decreased by 19.7% to US$3.17 billion last month. As a result, Argentina had a surplus of US$1.14 billion in March.
Argentina said it didn’t make $500 million in debt payments due Wednesday, starting a 30-day countdown to a possible default unless the government and bondholders can reach a deal on restructuring its massive foreign debt. The failure to pay came a week after the government of President Alberto Fernández presented a proposal to restructure roughly $70 billion in debt involving the suspension of its debt obligations for three years and a 62% reduction for interest payments.
