One of the hottest words in Lebanon for the past couple of months has probably been Eurobond. This word and March the 9th are causing a great deal of panic in Lebanon, both on governmental and popular levels, and deservedly so.
However, the scary deadline seems to be pushable, according to a member of the Lebanese Parliament.
On his official Twitter account, Lebanese MP and entrepreneur Michel Daher posted a tweet on Sunday night, commenting on the upcoming dollar bond repayment, and unveiling some interesting information regarding its deadline.
“And the campaign of scaring and intimidation continues about the consequences of not paying the Eurobond that is due on March 9 as a result of time constraints,” Daher stated.
The official then revealed that he has “contacted the most important law firms in New York,” which he said, “assured me that if we paid the interest for the past six months, this would give us an additional month [to pay], until April 9.”
وتستمر حملة التهويل والتخويف من عواقب عدم دفع اليوروبوند التي تستحق في ٩ آذار نظراً لضيق الوقت.قمت بالتواصل مع اهم مكاتب المحاماة في نيويورك وقد أكدوا لي انه في حال قمنا بدفع الفائدة عن الستة اشهر الماضية فذلك يعطينا شهر إضافي حتى ٩ نيسان فلدينا الوقت للتفاوض فليتوقف التهويل
— Michel Daher (@mgdaher) February 16, 2020
“So we have time to negotiate; let the intimidation stop,” he concluded the statement.
Interestingly, not one of the officials in the Lebanese government has brought up this fact since the Eurobond debate began lately. The government has clearly been working on the subject with March 9th in mind as the final deadline…
Could it be that the officials don’t know about this opinion? Activist Sahar Al-Atrash asked this question to the MP in a comment on his tweet, to which he replied: “I informed them of this opinion today.”
سحر بلغتهم هذا الرأي اليوم
— Michel Daher (@mgdaher) February 16, 2020
Although this new variable certainly doesn’t solve the Eurobond equation, at least it gives the Lebanese government some more time to weigh its options and make the right choice… That is if it does consider this opinion.
