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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

         Thursday, February 15, 2001, Vol. 2, Issue 33

                           Headlines


A R G E N T I N A

OMEGA: Decides To Liquidate


B O L I V I A

COTEL: Government To Hold New Tender Offer
COTEL: To Unite With Telephone Service Co-Ops Against Entel


B R A Z I L

COPENE: Tender Call To Be Released End of Next Week


C H I L E

GENER: To Finalize Restructuring Plans In The Next Few Weeks


M E X I C O

BANCRECER: IPAB To Sell 47.5 Percent Stake In Afore Bancrecer
CHRYSLER: DaimlerChrysler, UAW Agree On Early Retirement Plan
GRUPO VITRO: Seeking Fresh Capital from New Financial Partner
HYSLAMEX: Posts 78-Percent Decline In Year 2000 Net Profit
ICA: To Increase Construction This Year
INGENIEROS CIVILES: Want No "Special Treatment" From Government


V E N E Z U E L A

CORIMON CA: Shares Jump 11 Percent Amidst Takeover Speculations


     - - - - - - - - - -


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A R G E N T I N A
=================

OMEGA: Decides To Liquidate
---------------------------
Insurance company Omega is going into liquidation. The
announcement came in a South American Business Information report
last week following a failed merger attempt with LUA La Portena.
Consequently, Omega's policy holders will now be able to renew
their policies with LUA or transfer to another insurance company.

Even without the merger, Omega had a co-insurance policy with
LUA. Complications arose when Century Capital Management, LUA's
American partner, decided to end a contract for the transfer of
Omega's commerce funds and portfolio.

Omega reportedly has court cases pending with 6000 of its policy-
holders.


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B O L I V I A
=============

COTEL: Government To Hold New Tender Offer
------------------------------------------
Government appointed Cotel manager Rene Bustillo revealed the
Bolivian government's decision to launch a second round
international tender offer for Cotel in a BNamericas.com report
Tuesda. Cotel is the country's largest fixed line operator.

"We are going to notify all of the companies who registered in
the first round," he said. "We feel that at least two of the
companies are willing to participate and would have bid (in the
first round) if they had had more time." The end of Bustillo's
term has been extended from February 13 to March 27 under a
reinterpretation of the 90 calendar-day intervention period that
began November 17, 2000, which is now changed to 90 working days.

The second round is scheduled for the first half of March.
Afterwards, the election of a new board of directors by Cotel
shareholders takes place. According to Bustillo, the line
deployment terms in the original tender offer will remain intact
but the government is open to relaxing other conditions.

In order to receive a controlling 51 percent stake in the joint
stock company to be created from Cotel's assets, the winner must
at least double the telco's 165,000 installed lines.

The need for financial backing from a foreign investor is widely
believed to be the key to ensuring Cotel's future. The company is
saddled with debts totaling US$32 million and has only 165,000
lines in service out of a total line capacity of nearly 220,000.
A whopping US$1,500/line installation fee is a major factor
behind the company's latent capacity.

As reported, the first tender offer held on February 7 failed
when none of the 15 registered bidders presented a bid.
Iberdrola, Entel Bolivia, Andes Telecommunications,
UnitedGlobalCom and AES were the only companies to send
representatives to the event.


COTEL: To Unite With Telephone Service Co-Ops Against Entel
-----------------------------------------------------------
Cotel will unite with other Bolivian telephone service
cooperatives such as Cotas and Cotemco to secure their future in
the competition to be waged against Entel, South American
Business Information reported Tuesday.

Telephone cooperatives wanted to unite to compete with the
dominant Entel. Entel is expected to be the major player in the
domestic telecoms market to be deregulated in November 2001.
However, a governmental decree, which the smaller firms intend to
contest, prevents them from associating if the aggregate of their
individual market shares totals above 40 percent.



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B R A Z I L
===========

COPENE: Tender Call To Be Released End of Next Week
---------------------------------------------------
The tender call for the sale of petrochemical company Companhia
PetroquĦmica do Nordeste (Copene) should be released by the end
of next week. This was announced by Carlos Eduardo de Freitas,
the Brazilian central bank's director of public finances, in a
Brazil Financial Wire Tuesday report. He also informed that
Copene's data room should be opened this week. Freitas said he is
aware that U.S. company Dow Chemical is no longer interested in
the company's anymore but declined to offer details about other
potential bidders.



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C H I L E
=========

GENER: To Finalize Restructuring Plans In The Next Few Weeks
------------------------------------------------------------
Following the takeover by U.S.-based power company AES, in the
next few weeks Chilean generator Gener should finalize plans to
restructure its administration and business, according to a
Business News Americas report published Tuesday.

The new administration decided to offer a plan of voluntary
retirement and concentrate on the electricity business in Chile.
The sale of non-electricity assets "does not mean breaking them
up but rather seeking the best opportunities to capitalize on
their sale," a source at Gener explained. Regarding the voluntary
retirement plan, there were no definite figures. "We will see who
takes up the offer in order to know the percentage of employees
who will leave this way, because the program is not compulsory."

"The direction of the new organization has not been fully
defined, though it is clear AES philosophy is to concentrate
activities on business units, and those in charge of these units
will have to be close to them. This will have a repercussion on
our head offices, which will become large for us after staff
numbers have been reduced and management is concentrated in
business units; i.e. at our plants," he added.



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M E X I C O
===========

BANCRECER: IPAB To Sell 47.5 Percent Stake In Afore Bancrecer
-------------------------------------------------------------
Mexican bank bailout agency IPAB announced in a South American
Business Information report published Tuesday it has approved the
plan to sell off its 47.5 percent stake in Afore Bancrecer
(Afore). Afore is a pension fund manager owned by government-
intervened Bancrecer. According to IPAB, proceeds of the sale
will be used to capitalize Bancrecer, possibly set to be the
subject of a bid by HSBC of Britain. Among the institutions
interested in acquiring Afore are Germans firms, Dresdner and
Allianz; and Santander Serfin of Mexico.


CHRYSLER: DaimlerChrysler, UAW Agree On Early Retirement Plan
-------------------------------------------------------------
DaimlerChrysler Corporation and the United Auto Workers (UAW)
announced today an agreement on a voluntary incentive program for
hourly retirement-eligible employees as part of the company's
turnaround plan.

Hourly employees eligible for this program must meet one of the
following criteria:

* Age 60 with at least 10 years of pension credited service;

* Attained 30 or more years pension credited service;

* Attained age 55, but not 60, and whose combined years of age
and pension credited service total 85 points or more.

The pre-tax total value of the incentive to each eligible
employee will be $35,000, half to be used toward the purchase of
a selected Chrysler Group vehicle and, the other half, a one-time
cash payment.

"Together with the solid retirement benefits we have negotiated
over the years, these incentives substantially improve the
options available to our retirement-eligible members at
DaimlerChrysler. They fit the UAW's long- standing goal of
creating solid and secure retirements while also keeping good
jobs for lower-seniority workers," said Nate Gooden, the UAW Vice
President who heads the union's DaimlerChrysler Department.

"We are very pleased to have come to an agreement with the union
on this special voluntary program to adjust our workforce size in
the most effective manner, while minimizing the number of
layoffs," said John Franciosi, DaimlerChrysler Corporation Senior
Vice President - Employee Relations.

The acceptance period for this incentive program for retirees
will vary depending on the timing of the actions at each of the
affected locations.


GRUPO VITRO: Seeking Fresh Capital from New Financial Partner
-------------------------------------------------------------
Leading Mexican glassmaker Grupo Vitro is looking for a new
financial partner, according to an El Economista/Infolatina
report Tuesday. Vitro has reportedly hired Credit Suisse First
Boston's DLJ, headed in Mexico by Guillaume Malle, to lead the
search for a major investor willing to inject fresh capital into
the company. So far, it hasn't found any prospects yet.

The glassmaker is reportedly planning to invest 5 million dollars
to expand its capacity to produce tempered glass and expects its
sales of tempered glass to increase 150 percent as a result.
Tempered glass is used to make components for home appliances and
electronics goods.


HYSLAMEX: Posts 78-Percent Decline In Year 2000 Net Profit
----------------------------------------------------------
Net profit at Mexican steelmaker Hyslamex for the year 2000 was
down by 77.67 percent, according to the Grupo Alfa subsidiary in
a report published by Reforma/Infolatina last week. The company
attributed the decline to exchange-rate factors and a dramatic
increase in natural gas and electricity prices in the second half
of the said year.

Additionally, operating profit declined 38 percent compared to
the previous year due to a 4.55-percent drop in annual sales. The
company said price growth and solid volume in the first half of
the year was more than offset by unfavorable export prices and
lower volumes, triggered by energy cost increases, in the second
half.


ICA: To Increase Construction This Year
---------------------------------------
Mexico's largest construction company Empresas ICA Sociedad
Controladora SA revealed plans to increase construction to
between 3,000 and 5,000 housing units this year, according to
Reforma/Infolatina Tuesday. In the past two years, the
construction firm has built 3,000 homes. Although most of its
previous business has been focused in heavy-construction,
engineering and procurement, it has recently created a home-
building division.


INGENIEROS CIVILES: Want No "Special Treatment" From Government
---------------------------------------------------------------
Bernado Quintana, chief executive officer of cash-strapped
Ingenieros Civiles Asociados (ICA) said that the construction
company wants no special treatment from the federal government,
Reforma/Infolatina reported Tuesday. However, it does want the
government to crack down on unfair competitive practices in the
industry and invest more taxpayers' money in public works
projects in order to stimulate construction industry activity and
improve Mexicans' quality of life.

"We don't want to appear either arrogant or indifferent to other
construction firms. Financially, we're better off than others. I
don't want to ask the government for special financing. What we
need is for public works projects to be initiated, so that we can
compete in an orderly fashion, with common aims, because that is
necessary for the well-being of the Mexican people, who need
highways, water-treatment plants, waste-management facilities and
power stations," Quintana said.



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V E N E Z U E L A
=================

CORIMON CA: Shares Jump 11 Percent Amidst Takeover Speculations
---------------------------------------------------------------
Shares of Corimon CA jumped 11 percent amid widespread rumors
that the company may be taken over, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

Shares rose 0.40 bolivars to 3.90 bolivars ($0.006), a 52-week
high. Volume was an exchange leading 32.2 million shares. The
company's American depositary receipts also rose 14 percent to
$27.95, also a 52-week high. Each ADR is equal to 5,000 Class A
shares.

"We don't have any idea what is happening," said Eduardo
Melendez, vice president for legal affairs. "We have no idea who
is buying."

Corimon, C.A. is a Venezuelan company that conducts business in
three segments: paints and related products, hypermarkets, and
packaging and inks. The company nearly went bankrupt in 1996 and
in 1998 held talks with Germany's BASF AG regarding a possible
sale, however, negotiations between the two ended up unsettled.



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
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Psamathe P. Alfeche and Janice Mendoza, Editors.

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

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