Cuba Reaches Deal to Pay $2.6 Billion in Arrears to Paris Club

Cuba Reaches Deal to Pay $2.6 Billion in Arrears to Paris Club
Deal calls for $4 billion of Cuba's debt to be forgiven
By JASON CHOW
Updated Dec. 12, 2015 2:13 p.m. ET

PARIS––Cuba has reached a deal with its creditors where the county will
pay $2.6 billion in arrears over an 18-year period while $4 billion of
its debt will be forgiven.

The deal comes after months of negotiations between the Communist nation
and the Paris Club, an informal group of developed creditor nations. The
talks stem from Cuba's lingering $16 billion debt which it defaulted in
1986.

The French Treasury, which heads the group, said in a statement the
Paris Club "welcomed progress made by the Republic of Cuba towards the
normalization of its relations with creditors and the international
financial community."

The group of creditor countries includes Australia, Austria, Belgium,
Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K.

France, which is Cuba's largest creditor, has agreed to have $240
million of the $470 million in principal and interest owed to be repaid,
said French Finance Minister Michel Sapin. The rest will be converted
into development projects in Cuba, Mr. Sapin said.

Cuba has recently made steps to re-engage with the international
community. Last year, Cuba and the U.S. said they would normalize
relations after decades of tension, though the U.S. has maintained its
economic blockade against the island country.

Neither France nor the Paris Club detailed the amount of principal that
has been forgiven.

Write to Jason Chow at jason.chow@wsj.com

Source: Cuba Reaches Deal to Pay $2.6 Billion in Arrears to Paris Club -
WSJ -
http://www.wsj.com/articles/cuba-reaches-deal-to-pay-2-6-billion-in-arrears-to-paris-club-1449947319