Solvency concerns in the developing world are nothing new. But as governments stare down the humanitarian and economic shocks of the coronavirus pandemic, some emerging markets with weak financial positions are at greater risk of defaulting on their debts, Bloomberg News reported. At least 102 nations have already asked the International Monetary Fund for help, and the Institute of International Finance is coordinating an effort to offer some relief to the poorest countries.

Argentina is entering a crucial period this month for a precarious debt-restructuring process that will determine whether or not the country falls into default for a third time in just two decades, Reuters reported. After months of negotiations, the South American country made a proposal in April to restructure $65 billion of its foreign debt. This offer expires on May 8, while a grace period for paying interest on three dollar bonds ends on May 22.

The International Monetary Fund on Saturday confirmed it had approved $643 million in emergency assistance for Ecuador, but said the Andean country would need additional support from other external partners to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported. The outbreak of the novel coronavirus and plummeting oil prices and global demand were having a devastating effect on Ecuador, one of the largest oil exporters in Latin America, said IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.

Argentina is willing to keep working toward a deal to restructure its debt if an offer that expires on Friday is rejected, the economy minister said. Economy Minister Martin Guzman told Argentine daily Clarin in an interview published on Sunday that he is seeing a “growing understanding” with bondholders ahead of a May 8 deadline for the offer that creditor groups already criticized, Bloomberg News reported. “We believe that the process in these days has been positive, yet it is still lacking and the dialog will continue,” Guzman said.

Some of Argentina’s key creditors are rejecting invitations to speak with the nation’s finance team this week as both sides jockey for more favorable terms in a $65 billion debt restructuring, Bloomberg News reported. Tensions are building as the clock counts down on two key deadlines: May 8 for a debt-exchange offer and May 22, when a 30-day grace period for coupon payments on dollar bonds maturing in 2021, 2026 and 2046 expires. To close a deal, the South American nation needs support from creditors owning at least two-thirds of the aggregate holdings.

Argentina’s latest effort to restructure its overseas debt probably won’t be its last, according to Harvard University economist Carmen Reinhart, who has sounded alarms over coming emerging markets crises in Venezuela and Turkey, Bloomberg News reported. If anything, she said in an interview, Argentina’s initial offer merely kicks the can down the road. It will need to be revisited in a few years given the impact of the pandemic on the global economy, she said.

Argentina and the province of Buenos Aires will start setting up virtual meetings this week with institutional investors as they continue the process of restructuring more than $76 billion in debt, according to people familiar with the plan, Bloomberg News reported. The national government will call on about 20 institutions and funds -- including BlackRock, Ashmore and Fintech’s David Martinez -- to present its offer to restructure $69 billion in debt, the people said asking not to be named because the the plan isn’t public yet.

A previously unreported Brazilian court injunction last month has thrown a wrench into Bunge Ltd’s plan to take over two soy processing plants from local crusher Imcopa, according to court filings seen by Reuters. The injunction was granted on behalf of two Panamanian entities identified in the filings as “third parties,” Reuters reported. It effectively suspended a bankruptcy court auction in which Bunge had bid a combined 50 million reais ($9.16 million) for the plants. The Feb.

Argentines are flocking to buy black-market dollars as real interest rates sink below zero and fears mount of yet another chaotic sovereign debt default, Bloomberg News reported. The peso weakened to a record 118 pesos per dollar in informal exchange houses known as “caves” Thursday, up from 107 the previous day, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. That’s even higher than the blue-chip swap rate, another parallel rate derived from buying securities locally and selling them abroad.

Developing countries need about $1 trillion in debt canceled to free up funds to fight the coronavirus pandemic and avert a massive debt crisis, the United Nations said, Bloomberg News reported. Immediate payment waivers coupled with a debt overhaul will help countries stay solvent in the face of as much as $3.4 trillion in obligations due this year and next, according to the UN’s trade and development agency, UNCTAD. The total debt stock of developing countries -- external and domestic, private and public -- stood at 191% of gross domestic product by the end of 2018.