NEW YORK, June 14 (Reuters) - A majority of Suriname bondholders have triggered a termination clause on the South American country's 2023 and 2026 notes, a creditor committee said in a statement on Monday.
The action reinstates payment obligations that had been deferred under a proposal launched by Suriname in March, the committee said.
Suriname has "failed to negotiate in good faith the terms of the debt restructuring," the holders said in a statement.
They said a recent presentation made by Suriname authorities to investors "is neither reflective of Suriname’s economic prospects and evolving payment capacity, nor consistent with the highly positive presentations made in recent weeks to other audiences in respect of Suriname’s bright economic future."
Commercial holders had in April agreed to defer payments but last month said Suriname had not allowed them sufficient participation in a $690 million financing deal with the International Monetary Fund and threatened to reinstate the deferred payments.
"We will have a response in due course," wrote Finance Minister Armand Achaibersing in a text message, when consulted by Reuters about the creditor committee statement.
Suriname's government on June 2 proposed a $236 million instrument maturing in 2029 to replace amounts outstanding, interest and arrears totaling some $786 million in marketable debt, or around a 70% haircut.
Suriname's 2026 bond was quoted at 61.5 cents on the dollar, little changed on the day but down from 71 at the close on June 1, the day before Suriname's haircut proposal. (Reporting by Ank Kuipers in Paramaribo, Rodrigo Campos in New York and Brian Ellsworth in Caracas; Editing by Alistair Bell)
