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

The IMF wants Argentina's recovery to spread beyond farming, mining and energy, while app-based self-employment has grown by up to 30% in a year with unemployment at 7.9%.

- Published: 2026-10-12T05:11:07.327Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-10-12/argentina-s-caputo-seeks-about-1-billion-from-the-imf-in-ban
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: macro
- Sources: [Clarín](https://www.clarin.com/economia/viaje-caputo-tailandia-fmi-banco-mundial-buscara-destrabar-nuevos-fondos-blindar-programa-financiero_0_u9msKwZn5g.html), [Ámbito (Indonesia)](https://www.ambito.com/economia/indonesia-busca-socios-energeticos-vaca-muerta-y-abre-la-puerta-la-carne-argentina-n6330748), [Ámbito (employment)](https://www.ambito.com/economia/el-cuentapropismo-las-apps-crecio-30-un-ano-y-expone-la-nueva-cara-del-empleo-el-pais-n6332082)

Luis Caputo, Argentina's economy minister, has gone to the Bangkok meetings to [unlock new funds and secure the government's financial program](https://www.clarin.com/economia/viaje-caputo-tailandia-fmi-banco-mundial-buscara-destrabar-nuevos-fondos-blindar-programa-financiero_0_u9msKwZn5g.html), 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](https://www.infobae.com/economia/2026/10/08/caputo-viaja-a-tailandia-se-encontrara-con-la-titular-del-fmi-a-la-espera-del-desembolso-por-usd-1000-millones/). 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](https://www.clarin.com/economia/viaje-caputo-tailandia-fmi-banco-mundial-buscara-destrabar-nuevos-fondos-blindar-programa-financiero_0_u9msKwZn5g.html) and should spread across the economy. Labor data show why. App-based self-employment [grew by as much as 30% in a year](https://www.ambito.com/economia/el-cuentapropismo-las-apps-crecio-30-un-ano-y-expone-la-nueva-cara-del-empleo-el-pais-n6332082), 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)](https://www.ambito.com/economia/indonesia-busca-socios-energeticos-vaca-muerta-y-abre-la-puerta-la-carne-argentina-n6330748), 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.

## What this means

Argentina's peso and dollar bonds depend on continued IMF disbursements and on export dollars from energy and farming. A smooth third review supports reserves, and a delay would raise doubts about the financial program before Argentina's large debt payments next year. Energy investors and Asian buyers benefit from Vaca Muerta's growth. Urban workers in services absorb the adjustment through informal jobs. The IMF has an interest in seeing a program it designed succeed, which makes approval likely, but its comment on uneven growth sets conditions for later reviews. The more likely outcome is approval of the review and release of the disbursement within weeks, accompanied by new IMF language on employment and reserve accumulation. This forecast would be proven wrong if the IMF delays the review over reserve targets, which would put pressure on the peso before the year-end payments.

## What to watch

- The IMF board's timing on Argentina's third review. A delay would signal disagreement over reserve accumulation.
- Any signed investment commitment from Indonesian state energy firms in Vaca Muerta. Signed commitments would show Asian buyers actually diversifying away from the Gulf, not just exploring.
- Argentina's next labor data on formal private employment. A rise would answer the IMF's concern, and a fall would support it.