Argentina's debt swap to differentiate investors-report

BUENOS AIRES, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Argentina may offer retail investors willing to participate in the reopening of its 2005 debt restructuring a 3-year bond in exchange for lost interest between 2004 and 2009, Ambito Financiero newspaper reported on Monday.

The paper, which did not name sources, said institutional investors would be offered a 7-year bond.

The government may also offer to retail investors an extra 60 days over institutional investors and hedge funds to join the restructuring, the report said.

Argentina defaulted on roughly $100 billion of sovereign debt eight years ago and later restructured the debt with a steep discount. Holders of some $20 billion in defaulted Argentine bonds did not enter the restructuring.

Those investors who entered the 2005 restructuring took heavy losses. But some received attractive coupons on the new bond they accepted because it was linked to gross domestic product, which grew strongly in Argentina from 2003-2008.

The government has since announced plans to reopen the 2005 debt restructuring and named Barclays Plc (BARC.L), Citigroup Inc (C.N) and Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE) to manage the reopening.

Full terms of the debt reopening have yet to be released, but Economy Minister Amado Boudou has said the government would try to structure a proposal taking into account differences between retail and institutional debt holders.

Boudou and other government officials have said that funds that may have bought the defaulted bonds very cheaply after Argentina's deep 2001/02 economic crisis should not get the same terms as retail investors.

(Writing by Vivianne Rodrigues; Editing by Kenneth Barry)