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       T R O U B L E D   C O M P A N Y   R E P O R T E R

                  L A T I N   A M E R I C A

         Monday, January 29, 2001, Vol. 2, Issue 20

                           Headlines




B R A Z I L

CERJ: EDP To Reinvest Utility Sale Proceeds In Brazil
EMBRATEL: Will Not Bid For D and E Bands Licenses
FURNAS/LIGHT: Aneel Imposes $7.6M Fine
IPIRANGA: Announces Partnership With Brazilian Bank


M E X I C O

BANSUD: Registers $77.7M Losses In Fourth Quarter Of Last Year
BUFETE: Negotiations With Bolanos Enter Final Stage
ICA: To Divest $250M This Year
SERFIN: Santander Mexicano Transfers Operations
TRANSPORTACION MARITIMA: Completes Consent Solicitation


     - - - - - - - - - -


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B R A Z I L
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CERJ: EDP To Reinvest Utility Sale Proceeds In Brazil
-----------------------------------------------------
Fernando Noronha Leal, manager of EDP's Brazilian unit, disclosed
in a Brazil Financial Wire report released Thursday that the
Portuguese electricity company EDP is planning to reinvest in
Brazil the amount that it gets for the sale of power utility
Cerj. However, Rio de Janeiro-based Cerj will only be sold when
the price is right, Leal stressed, adding that the company did
not intend to withdraw capital from Brazil, but rather invest in
Brazilian operations.


EMBRATEL: Will Not Bid For D and E Bands Licenses
-------------------------------------------------
Embratel, the Brazilian long distance calls carrier, said it is
not going to bid in the auction of the cell phone D and E bands
licenses, reported South American Business Information Thursday.
Bidding for a license would require an investment of R$1.66
billion from Embratel. However, the company revealed in a note
that projected profitability from the acquisition of licenses was
too little. Therefore, management decided to continue
investmenting in the long distance services and data transmission
for the corporate market. Embratel's goal is to strengthen its
existing position in current markets.


FURNAS/LIGHT: Aneel Imposes $7.6M Fine
--------------------------------------
State power giant Furnas and main distributor Light were
penalized by Brazil's electricity market regulator Aneel on
Thursday for causing the blackouts in Rio de Janeiro in December.
According to a report published by Reuters on Thursday, the two
companies were required to pay a 15-million-reais ($7.6 million)
fine. However, the two power utilities intend to appeal Aneel's
decision. Light explained that it was investing heavily in its
sub-station, thus causing the 12-minute blackout in the center of
Rio de Janeiro last month. Aneel refused to confirm the exact
fines levied on each company but, according to Furnas, the
regulator demanded 6.4 million reais for two accidents at its
substations.


IPIRANGA: Announces Partnership With Brazilian Bank
---------------------------------------------------
Distribuidora de Produtos de Petroleo Ipiranga (DPPI) announced
the creation of its partnership with the Brazilian bank Banco do
Brasil, South American Business Information reported Thursday.
The move will see to quickly accomplish a modernization program
for its gas stations in Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. The
value of the transaction hasn't been revealed.

Ipiranga reportedly invests between R$10 million and R$15 million
every year in its 925 stations, 130 of which were launched in
1996. Of the existing stations, 360 units already use the new
Ipiranga corporate image.



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M E X I C O
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BANSUD: Registers $77.7M Losses In Fourth Quarter Of Last Year
--------------------------------------------------------------
Banco Nacional de Mexico-(Banamex) controlled Bansud, posted the
following figures for the period ending December 31, 2000 in a
Reuters report released Thursday:

(Comparative figures are for the same period, one year prior)

- Net loss $77.7 millon vs. $25.6 million

- EPS -$1.21 vs -$0.40

- Net worth $179.2 million vs $328.3 million

In a letter to the Buenos Aires bourse, Bansud informed that
Banamex had completed an $80-million capitalization of the bank.
Additionally, it stated that Banamex had successfully transferred
$259 million in non-strategic commercial/irregular loans to
SANEO, a fiduciary fund.


BUFETE: Negotiations With Bolanos Enter Final Stage
---------------------------------------------------
Bufete Industrial is now in its final phase of negotiations with
Grupo Serbo's Sergio Bolanos over a deal which will likely reduce
its 443-million-dollar debt and stabilize its financial
situation, according to an El Economista/Infolatina report
released Thursday. Bolanos is reportedly planning to inject as
much as $400 million into Bufete. The debt-laden firm, which has
assets of $313 million and liabilities totaling $443 million,
needs at least $500 million in fresh capital for adequate
liquidity, analysts said.

Still under discussion is exactly how much of Bolanos Bufete will
ultimately own and how much it will pay for the position.


ICA: To Divest $250M This Year
------------------------------
Empresas ICA Sociedad Controladora, Mexico's largest construction
company, revealed in a Reforma/Infolatina report that it plans to
divest 250 million dollars in non-core assets this year. The
company has reportedly sold off 140 million dollars in non-
strategic assets in the last three weeks.

"We have continued our divestments. The assets we're going to
divest are worth around 250 million dollars. These are pending
sales," ICA Director of Communications Fernando Martinez said.

A TCR-LA report earlier this week stated that the company has
sold 11.75 percent of its stake in airport group Operadora
Mexicana de Aeropertos to Paris airports authority Aeroports de
Paris. However, according to Martinez, the transaction, which was
valued at $11.4 million, was not part of ICA fire sale since it
had been planned since the consortium was first formed.


SERFIN: Santander Mexicano Transfers Operations
-----------------------------------------------
Carlos Gomez y Gomez, chairman of Grupo Financiero Santander
Mexicano, said that the company would leave the two buildings it
has been occupying for the past several years. According to
Gomez, in a Reforma/Infolatina report filed Thursday, operations
will be transferred to the blocks previously owned by Serfin.

Serfin was acquired by Santander Mexicano, a subsidiary of Banco
Santander Central Hispano (BSCH), from Mexican bank bailout
agency IPAB in May last year.


TRANSPORTACION MARITIMA: Completes Consent Solicitation
-------------------------------------------------------
Transportacion Maritima Mexicana, S.A. de C.V. (NYSE: TMM and
TMM/A), the largest Mexican multi-modal transportation company,
successfully completed its previously announced consent
solicitation after receiving the consents from a majority of the
holders of each of its 91/4% notes due 2003 and 10% senior notes
due 2006 to modifications and waivers to certain provisions of
the indentures under which the notes were issued. These
modifications and waivers became effective today upon the
execution by TMM and the applicable trustees of an amendment to
each of the indentures under which the notes were issued. The
consent solicitation process began on December 12, 2000, and will
expire at 5 p.m. EST tomorrow.

For further information, please contact Salomon Smith Barney,
which acted as the exclusive Solicitation Agent for the Consent
Solicitation, at 390 Greenwich Street, fourth floor, New York, NY
10013, Attention: Liability Management Group, or by telephone at
800-558-3745.




S U B S C R I P T I O N   I N F O R M A T I O N

Troubled Company Reporter Latin American is a daily newsletter
co-published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Trenton, NJ,
and Beard Group, Inc., Washington, DC. John D. Resnick, Edem
Psamathe P. Alfeche and Janice Mendoza, Editors.

Copyright 2001.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2746.

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