Introduction

The privatization of most state-owned infrastructure business in Argentina in the 1990s, which attracted more than $22 billion to the Argentine economy, was primarily funded by debt from major international lenders. The lenders were attracted in large part by concession contracts that used the US dollar as the basis for future regulated charges. In 2002, when Argentina passed a law removing the US dollar clause in concession contracts, many privatized utilities defaulted on their debt payments.