Argentina's Caputo seeks about $1 billion from the IMF in Bangkok as Indonesia courts Vaca Muerta energy

Luis Caputo, Argentina's economy minister, has gone to the Bangkok meetings to unlock new funds and secure the government's financial program, Clarín reported. Argentina is seeking approval of the third review of its IMF agreement and a pending disbursement that Infobae puts at about $1 billion. Other Argentine outlets put the figure closer to $900 million. Caputo is due to meet Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF's managing director, again.

The IMF has warned that Argentina's recovery should not remain confined to agriculture, mining and energy and should spread across the economy. Labor data show why. App-based self-employment grew by as much as 30% in a year, Ámbito reported, with unemployment at 7.9% and informal work at 45%. Young people use delivery and ride apps to add to their wages, and older workers increasingly depend on them as their main income.

The extractive sectors are drawing foreign buyers. Indonesia's ambassador, Sulaiman Syarif, visited Neuquén province to explore investment in the Vaca Muerta shale formation and in Argentine liquefied natural gas (LNG), and he explained why Jakarta has opened its market to Argentine beef. For an Asian importer exposed to disruption in the Gulf, Argentine energy offers a supply source outside the Strait of Hormuz.

The government and the IMF read the same data differently. The IMF's comment points to uneven gains. An Austrian reading is that capital is moving to the sectors where Argentina has real returns once price controls and subsidies are removed, and that informal work grows where labor regulation makes formal hiring more expensive.