Argentina borrows $200 million from state agency

BUENOS AIRES Aug 12 (Reuters) - Argentina's government said on Wednesday it had sold a Treasury bill worth $200 million to a state agency, part of its drive to raise funds without tapping credit markets.

Latin America's No. 3 economy remains largely shut off from global debt markets seven years after it staged a massive default, forcing the government to meet its needs by selling issues to state bodies, mainly the ANSES pensions agency.

The latest debt sale was to the FGS, a fund that guarantees the sustainability of the country's pensions system, the Official Gazette said. The 182-day bill, which cannot be resold, have a nominal annual interest rate of 3.5 percent.

Meanwhile, Argentine newspapers reported Economy Minister Amado Boudou was working on a number of proposals to ease the country's debt repayment burden in the next two years.

Argentina faces payments of about $13 billion next year, and daily El Cronista said Boudou would make easing the government's schedule through 2011 his priority before seeking a deal with the Paris Club or the so-called holdouts.

Agreement with the group of creditor nations and holders of defaulted bonds who rejected a 2005 restructuring would make it easier for Argentina to issue new bonds on international markets, something Boudou says he hopes to do before the end of the year.

However, El Cronista said his first aim was to launch a debt swap to extend maturities and push back payments.

Daily newspaper La Nacion said Boudou's planned swap would ease the government's obligations by $1 billion next year and also aimed to reduce the amount of debt indexed to inflation.

Boudou is planning to offer peso-denominated bonds with an interest rate linked to the benchmark Badlar rate in exchange for the CER inflation-indexed paper, La Nacion reported.

The CER bonds have been at the center of controversy due to accusations that the government has been under-reporting inflation to save money on repayments.

Boudou, who is trying to restore credibility to the nation's consumer price data, said last month Argentina would seek to swap and buy back the inflation-linked bonds.

Boudou's spokesman was not immediately available to comment on the reports.

July's inflation figure is due to be released on Wednesday and economic analysts are watching for any sign that the official number is closer to private forecasts. [ID:nN11534869]

On Saturday, daily newspaper La Nacion said the government was planning to make a new offer to the holdout creditors in the coming weeks. [ID:nN08426004] (Reporting by Walter Bianchi and Helen Popper)