The Venezuela Creditors Committee (VCC) on Nov. 27 said a court in New York last week validated an agreement that extended the legal term on unpaid Venezuelan bonds until December 2028.

Venezuelan opposition lawmakers in August approved extending the validity of Venezuelan bonds and those of the country's state-owned oil company PDVSA for five more years to reduce risks of more lawsuits and to renegotiate with bondholders.

The VCC holds billions of dollars in defaulted Venezuelan bonds.

The committee coordinated with opposition lawmakers and the opposition-controlled ad hoc administrative board of PDVSA to win an "order from a court in New York" for the benefit of bondholders, it said in a statement.

The court recognized "the validity and binding effect of the tolling announcements and the rights of all Venezuela and PDVSA bondholders ... to file or re-file claims for payment on the bonds and notes on or before Dec. 31, 2028," the statement said.

Venezuela and PDVSA stopped paying bondholders six years ago and owe debts of more than $60 billion.

"The VCC intends to work with all stakeholders to put in place a process that will ensure a future orderly, consensual and equitable restructuring of the external indebtedness of Venezuela and its public sector entities," the statement added.

The U.S. Treasury Department lifted its ban on secondary market trading of Venezuelan bonds in October, prompting prices of Venezuelan and PDVSA bonds to rise as investors expect a renegotiation of debt.

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