It is understandable the excitement within the Ministry of Finance following news that external investors are showing greater confidence in Government by snapping up some $140 million or US $70 million in restructured Government of Barbados (GOB) bonds in a debt swap.Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn was quoted in the media on Wednesday: “Considering that the external bonds were trading at close to par for most of the duration after the foreign debt restructuring in December 2019, then it was not surprising. It demonstrates an expression of confidence in the management of the country’s fiscal affairs by the investors.”We have come a long way from the period when foreign holders of GOB debt were threatening legal action against the country over fallout from the debt restructuring process.It was back in October 2019 that the administration announced it had reached a deal with international market creditors more than a year after the country entered a historic selective default. Under the arrangement we issued some US$500 million or BDS $1 billion of new debt at 6.5 per cent and maturing in 2029.
