Moon group to cancel US$121mn debt with CenBank

The South Korean Moon group will cancel its entire US$121mn debt held with Uruguay's central bank and Banco de Credito, local press reported. Banco de Credito and a host of other local banks were intervened and suspended last year due to a financial crisis that provoked a temporary run on the banks' deposits. The government sought to sell Banco de Credito to the Moon group, which already held a minority post in the bank. However, subsequent negotiations broke down in February and the Central Bank opted to liquidate the bank. The Moon group's payment will come in the form of US$10mn in cash, US$11mn in US treasury bonds and US$93mn in Uruguayan government bonds.