A funding crisis risks getting worse for Argentina’s government unless it can strike deals with a mix of local, foreign and multilateral creditors who are owed $101bn of debt, the Financial Times reported. Last week Mauricio Macri, the country’s embattled president, announced that the country had postponed payment on $7bn of short-term local debt for up to six months and was seeking a “voluntary reprofiling” of $50bn of longer-term debt, the majority of which is held by foreign investors.

The sell-off in Argentina bonds is so severe that it may soon attract distressed-debt investors betting that there’s money to be made in a restructuring. With overseas notes trading at about 38 cents on the dollar, the vulture funds are probably still a ways from swooping in, Bloomberg News reported. Shops including Morgan Stanley and Merian Global Investors expect buyers with a strong appetite for risk will emerge at about 30 cents.

President Mauricio Macri’s administration is preparing to send plans to Congress on Monday to reschedule Argentina’s long-term debt, after rating agencies said the country had defaulted on its short-term obligations last week, the Financial Times reported. The measures are part of Mr Macri’s attempts to stave off a full-blown debt crisis by changing the repayments schedule for up to $50bn of obligations.

Odebrecht’s construction unit OEC has signed an agreement with bondholders to restructure its debt at a 55% discount, cutting it from $3.2 billion to $1.4 billion, the conglomerate said in a statement on Friday. The bonds, which matured and were unpaid earlier this year, will have new 4-1/2-year maturities, Reuters reported. The agreement concludes the out-of-court restructuring of Odebrecht’s construction unit. Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico first reported on the signing of the agreement.

Latin American airline Avianca will look to increase the number of passengers it can fit into a plane without enlarging its fleet as part of its efforts to overcome ongoing financial problems, its chief executive said on Thursday, Reuters reported. A video was released on social media this week showing president of the board Roberto Kriete telling employees that the airline was “broke.” The airline said the video was obtained illegally and denied that it was in a bankruptcy or insolvency process.

Embattled president Mauricio Macri tried to shore up confidence in Argentina after the country asked creditors for more time to pay $101bn of debts, but market analysts said the move pointed to a ninth sovereign default by the South American nation, the Financial Times reported. The peso slid and bonds sold off on Thursday as investors judged the hasty move insufficient to solve the country’s financial woes.

Latin American airline Avianca will look to increase the number of passengers it can fit into a plane without enlarging its fleet as part of its efforts to overcome ongoing financial problems, its chief executive said on Thursday, Reuters reported. A video was released on social media this week showing president of the board Roberto Kriete telling employees that the airline was “broke.” The airline said the video was obtained illegally and denied that it was in a bankruptcy or insolvency process.

Argentina’s government is seeking to extend maturities on tens of billions of dollars of debt and delay repayments to the International Monetary Fund after a collapse in the peso and its bonds, Bloomberg News reported. The government will postpone $7 billion of payments on short-term local notes held by institutional investors this year and will seek the “voluntary reprofiling‘’ of $50 billion of longer-term debt, Economy Minister Hernan Lacunza said. It will also start talks over the repayment of $44 billion it has received from the IMF.

Argentina investors scorched by one of the worst sell-offs in the history of emerging markets are banking on the International Monetary Fund to buy the country some time, Bloomberg News reported. IMF officials are visiting Buenos Aires and will give their recommendation within weeks on whether to disburse another $5.3 billion to the country from a record bailout approved in 2018.

Avianca Holdings SA plunged to a record low after the Colombia-based airline’s chairman was seen in a leaked internal video telling employees that the company is “bankrupt,” Bloomberg News reported. The stock dropped as much as 15% in Bogota trading before paring losses. Kriete was trying to reiterate to employees the urgency of getting back to profitability, said Carlos Enrique Rodriguez, head of equity research at Bogota-based brokerage Ultraserfinco.