/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRLA

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRLA_Public/031126.mbx 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 Wednesday, November 26, 2003, Vol. 4, Issue 234 Headlines A R G E N T I N A ALAMRES MORENO: Court Orders Bankruptcy CARLOS SALEMME: Court Assigns Receiver for Bankruptcy Process CASA NERVION: Receiver Ends Claims Process Today CRISOMAR: Proofs of Claims Due by December 30 DEPETRIS ACOSTA: Court Oversses Company Liquidation DG PLAST: Bankruptcy Begins by Court Order DISCO: 3 International Investors to Share Cencosud Ownership DOLL TOYS: Bankruptcy Credit Check Ends Today EMPESA: Receiver Verifies Claims in Bankruptcy Process ENGEBRAS: Bankruptcy Process Now Official, Receiver Assigned ENTRE RIOS: Receiver Closes Creditor Claims Review Today GATIC: Court Appoints Two Trustees To Observe Negotiations IEBA: Standard & Poor’s Withdraws Rating MGT: Bankruptcy Initiated as Court Authorizes Process PERROT ARGENTINA: Court Approves Creditor's Bankruptcy Petition PETROBRAS ENERGIA: Personal Asset Tax Refund Expected Soon SABORE: Creditor Claims Due for Filing Today TEDESCO: Court Assigns Receiver for Bankruptcy Process TELEFONICA DE ARGENTINA: December 19 Shareholder Meeting Set VPF: Claims Deadline Expires Today B R A Z I L CSN: Moody’s Raises Local, Foreign Currency Ratings EMBRATEL: Telemar Reveals Buyout Plans, May Surprise Analysts TELEMAR: Cuts Previous Net Debt Forecast for the Year * Brazil’s Debt Rating Outlook May Be Changed to ‘Positive’ C H I L E AES GENER: Fitch Ups Ratings, Maintains Rating Watch Positive VIDA PLENA: Upcoming Sale Attracts Only One Bidder D O M I N I C A N R E P U B L I C TRICOM: Refutes Insurance Superintendent’s Claims J A M A I C A TCRL: Liquidation Process Enters Final Stages P E R U SIDERPERU: Schedules Meetings To Discuss Debt Refinancing T R I N I D A D & T O B A G O BWIA: CAA Strips Approval For Maintenance Inspections - - - - - - - - - - ================= A R G E N T I N A ================= ALAMRES MORENO: Court Orders Bankruptcy --------------------------------------- Buenos Aires Court No. 3 declared the bankruptcy of local company Alambres Moreno S.A., local news source Infobae reports. Working with Clerk No. 5, the court assigned Mr. Marcelo Carlos Rodriguez, as the Company's receiver. The credit verification period expires on March 8 next year. Proofs of claims must be presented to the receiver for authentication before the said date in order for creditors to qualify for payments to be made at the end of the bankruptcy process. After verifications are closed, the receiver will prepare the individual reports, which are due for filing on April 22 next year. The general report, prepared after the individual reports are processed at court, must be submitted on June 4. The Company's assets will be liquidated at the end of the process to repay creditors. Payment distribution will be based on the results of the verification process. CONTACT: Marcelo Carlos Rodriguez Cerrito 146 Buenos Aires CARLOS SALEMME: Court Assigns Receiver for Bankruptcy Process ------------------------------------------------------------- Court No. 2 of Buenos Aires assignned Ms. Felisa Mabel Tumilasci as receiver for the bankruptcy of local company Carlos A Salemme S.A., relates Infobae. She is instructed to verify creditors' claims until December 11 next year. The results of the verification process will be forwarded to the court via the individual reports, which are due for filing on March 4 next year. The receiver will also prepare a general report to be filed on April 19, 2004. Buenos Aires Court No. 2 handles the Company's case with assistance from Clerk No. 3, Infobae adds. CONTACT: Felisa Mabel Tumilasci Ave Montes de Oca 485 Buenos Aires CASA NERVION: Receiver Ends Claims Process Today ------------------------------------------------ Jorge Omar Inafuku, receiver for Casa Nervion S.A., will close the credit verification process for the Company’s bankruptcy today, according to the Troubled Company Reporter – Latin America in an earlier report. This process was done to examine the Company’s debts. The receiver will start preparing the individual reports, which are to be submitted to the court on February 12 next year. The general report should follow on March 25. The Company's assets will then be liquidated to reimburse creditors. CONTACT: Jorge Omar Inafuku Cerrito 1070 Buenos Aires CRISOMAR: Proofs of Claims Due by December 30 --------------------------------------------- Creditors of Buenos Aires company Crisomar S.R.L. must have their claims verified by the Company's receiver, Mr. Pedro Luis Santamaria, by December 30 this year. The receiver will prepare the individual reports after verifications are closed. Buenos Aires Court No. 9, which handles the Company's case, ordered the receiver to submit the individual reports on March 12 next year, followed by the general report on April 28. The general report is prepared after the individual reports are processed at court. The informative assembly, one of the last parts of a reorganization, will be held on November 8 next year, as the court ordered. Clerk No. 17 assists the court on the case. CONTACT: Crisomar S.R.L. Esmeralda 1385 Buenos Aires Pedro Luis Santamaria Lavalle 1430 Buenos Aires DEPETRIS ACOSTA: Court Oversses Company Liquidation --------------------------------------------------- The Civil and Commercial Tribunal of Trenque de Lauquen in Argentina declares local company Depetris Acosta y Compania S.R.L. "Quiebra". The Company will undergo the bankruptcy process with Mr. Eduardo Miguel Rojas as receiver, relates local news source Infobae. The receiver will authenticate creditors' claims until February 10 next year. This is done to determine the nature and amount of the Company's debts. The court will be informed of the results of the verifications through the individual and general reports. The source, however, did not mention whether the court has set the deadlines for the report or not. CONTACT: Depetris Acosta y Companis S.R.L. Ave San Martin y Esquina Santa Cruz Piedritas Eduardo Miguel Rojas San Martin 465 Trenque Lauquen DG PLAST: Bankruptcy Begins by Court Order ------------------------------------------ D.G. Plast S.R.L., which is based in Buenos Aires, entered bankruptcy on orders from the city's Court No. 22. Local accountant Ms. Marta Acuna, will oversee the bankruptcy process as the Company's receiver, relates local news portal Infobae. Creditors must present their claims to the receiver for verification before February 2 next year. The receiver will then prepare the individual reports on the results of the verifications. A general report will also be prepared after the individual reports are processed at court. Infobae, however, did not mention whether the deadlines for these reports have been set. CONTACT: D.G. Plast S.R.L. Ave de la Plata 411 Buenos Aires Marta Acuna Combate de los Pozos 129 Buenos Aires DISCO: 3 International Investors to Share Cencosud Ownership ------------------------------------------------------------ Laurence Golborne, general manager at Chilean retail holding Cencosud, said the group will share the ownership of Disco with three international investors: Capital International, AIG Capital Partners and the International Finance Corporation - the private-sector investment arm of the World Bank. These investors will pay 50% of the amount of the operation. Cencosud has subscribed an accord for the acquisition of Argentina’s supermarket chain Disco with Dutch food and beverage retailer Ahold. Mr. Golborne also announced that Cencosud plans to merge the operations of its hypermarket chain Jumbo Argentina and Disco. Although the price of the deal has not been set yet, it has been said it would be around ARS350 million (US$125 million), including cash and assumption of debts. Cencosud is carrying out a due diligence in order to determine the exact amount of Discos debt. Ahold and Cencosud, Chile's No. 2 supermarket operator, must still finalize the stock purchase agreement and Cencosud must conclude its confirmatory due diligence. Parties expect signing of a binding transaction before year-end. Closing of the transaction is conditional upon obtaining local anti-trust approval, which may be expected before the end of the second quarter of 2004. As of June 30, 2003, Disco operated 237 stores in Argentina. Cencosud has interests in real estate, do-it-yourself stores and hypermarkets in Chile and Argentina. The company operates 12 Jumbo hypermarkets and 23 Easy Homecenter do-it-yourself stores in Argentina. It acquired Ahold's stake in the Chilean supermarket chain Santa Isabel in July 2003. The intended divestment of Disco S.A. is part of Ahold's strategic plan to restructure its portfolio, to divest underperforming assets, and to concentrate on its mature and most stable markets. DOLL TOYS: Bankruptcy Credit Check Ends Today --------------------------------------------- The claims verification period for the bankruptcy of Buenos Aires-based company Doll Toys S.A. will conclude today. The Troubled Company Reporter – Latin America earlier reported that Mr. Daniel Macri was assigned as the Company's receiver. The city's Court No. 1, under Dr. Dieuzeide, approved a petition for the Company's bankruptcy, filed by a creditor for failure to meet its financial obligations. Clerk No. 1, Dr. Pasina, aids the court on the case. The receiver is required to prepare the individual and general reports for the process. However, local sources did not reveal the deadlines for these reports. CONTACT: Doll Toys S.A. Valentin Gomez 3024 Buenos Aires Daniel Macri Simbron 742 Buenos Aires EMPESA: Receiver Verifies Claims in Bankruptcy Process ------------------------------------------------------ Mr. Ricardo Garcia, receiver for Empesa S.A., is verifying creditors' claims for the Company's bankruptcy process. Local news portal Infobae relates that the verification period ends February 25 next year. The city's Court No. 11, which handles the Company's case, requires the receiver to prepare the individual reports after the verifications are closed. The receiver must also prepare a general report after the individual reports are processed at court. Infobae, however, did not mention the submission deadlines for the receiver's reports. CONTACT: Empesa S.A. Tucuman 983 Buenos Aires Ricardo Garcia Lavalle 1206 Buenos Aires ENGEBRAS: Bankruptcy Process Now Official, Receiver Assigned ------------------------------------------------------------ Buenos Aires accountant Isabel Ramirez is now receiver for the bankruptcy of local company Engebras Argentina S.A., according to local news portal Infobae. The city's Court No. 21 assigned Ms. Ramirez to the post, with assistance from Clerk No. 42. The credit verification process ends on July 13 next year. Creditors must present their claims to the receiver for authentication before the said date. This is done to ascertain the nature and amount of the Company's debts. The receiver is also required to prepare the individual and general reports for the process. The deadlines for these reports were not mentioned in Infobae’s report. CONTACT: Engebras Argentina S.A. Tucuman 540 Buenos Aires Isabel Ramirez Presidente Peron 2082 Buenos Aires ENTRE RIOS: Receiver Closes Creditor Claims Review Today -------------------------------------------------------- Mr. Ricardo Felix Fernandez, receiver for Buenos Aires company Entre Rios Cristales S.R.L., will close the credit verification process for the Company’s bankruptcy today. As ordered by the city’s Court No. 20, the receiver will start preparations for the individual reports. An earlier report by the Troubled Company Reporter – Latin America indicated that the court requires the receiver to hand in the individual reports on February 9 next year. These reports contain the results of the verification process. The receiver must also file a general report on March 22, 2004. The bankruptcy process is likely to result in the liquidation of the Company's assets in order to pay its creditors. CONTACT: Ricardo Felix Fernandez Tucuman 1567 Buenos Aires GATIC: Court Appoints Two Trustees To Observe Negotiations ---------------------------------------------------------- The court that oversees Argentine textile concern Gatic’s formal restructuring proceeding has taken part in the operation through which the firm will temporarily transfer four of its plants to Guillermo Gotelli. The court has appointed two trustees - Gilberto Carelli and Silvia Martino - to observe the negotiations that started last week and are still in progress. Carelli and Martino are watching the talks closely in order to keep the judge informed until the accord is closed and submitted for approval. The most difficult aspects of the talks are believed to be the fee that Gotelli and his partners will pay Gatic and the number of workers that will keep working at the rented plants. Gatic is carrying out a formal restructuring proceeding and, according to daily Infobae, has around ARS529 million (US$183 million) in debts. Gotelli used to manage Gatics rival, Alpargatas. IEBA: Standard & Poor’s Withdraws Rating ---------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said Monday that it withdrew its 'D' corporate credit ratings on the Argentina-based Inversora Eléctrica de Buenos Aires (IEBA) at the company's request. The 'D' senior unsecured debt rating on IEBA was also withdrawn. ANALYST: Sergio Fuentes Buenos Aires Phone: (54) 114-891-2131 Luciano Gremone Buenos Aires Phone: (54) 11-4891-2143 MGT: Bankruptcy Initiated as Court Authorizes Process ----------------------------------------------------- MGT S.A., which is based in Buenos Aires, entered bankruptcy with Mr. Alberto Antonio Vilela as its receiver. Local news source Infobae relates that the city's Court No. 22 issued the bankruptcy order. Clerk No. 43 assists the court on the case. Creditors are given until December 29 this year to have their claims authenticated by the receiver. The court requires the receiver to submit the individual reports on March 11, 2004 followed by the general report on April 27. At the end of the bankruptcy process, the Company's assets will be liquidated to reimburse creditors. CONTACT: Alberto Antonio Vilela Rodriguez Pena 431 Buenos Aires PERROT ARGENTINA: Court Approves Creditor's Bankruptcy Petition --------------------------------------------------------------- Judge Paez Castaneda of Buenos Aires Court No. 21 approved a petition for the bankruptcy of local company Perrot Argentina S.A. filed by its creditor, HSBC Argentina SA. A report by local newspaper La Nacion indicates that the court declared the Company "Quiebra". Ms. Patrcia Narduzzi, an accountant from Buenos Aires, was designated as the Company's receiver. Her tasks include the verification of creditors' claims until August 4 next year, and the preparation of the individual and general reports, whose deadlines were not indicated by the source. Clerk No. 42, Dr. Barreiro, assists the court on the case, which will close with the liquidation of the Company's assets to reimburse creditors. CONTACT: Perrot Argentina S.A. 14th FLoor, Office 1406 Peru 359 Buenos Aires Patricia Narduzzi 1st Floor Ave Rivadavia 666 Buenos Aires PETROBRAS ENERGIA: Personal Asset Tax Refund Expected Soon ---------------------------------------------------------- Petrobras Energia Participaciones S.A. (Buenos Aires: PBE, NYSE:PZE), controlling company with a 98.21% stake in Petrobras Energia S.A. (Buenos Aires: PESA), informs that it will soon file a claim for refund of the personal asset tax paid by the Company - as substitute taxpayer - on the shareholders’ holdings as of December 31, 2002. The procedure indicated above complies with the provisions of Law Nbr. 25,585, amendatory to Personal Assets Law Nbr. 23,966. CONTACT: INVESTOR RELATIONS Daniel E. Rennis drennis@petrobrasenergia.com Alberto Jankowski ajankows@petrobrasenergia.com Tel: (5411) 4344-6655 SABORE: Creditor Claims Due for Filing Today -------------------------------------------- Today, November 26, is the last day for credit verifications in connection with the reorganization of Buenos Aires company Sabore S.R.L.. The Company’s receiver, Veronica Bartella verified the claims to determine the nature and amount of the Company’s debts. An earlier report by the Troubled Company Reporter – Latin America indicated that the city’s Court No. 6 approved the Company’s motion for "Concurso Preventivo." Clerk No. 12 works with the court on the case. Ms. Bartella's duties as receiver also include preparation of the individual reports after the credit verifications are completed. The court expects these reports to be handed in on February 10 next year. The receiver will then prepare the general report, to be filed on March 23 next year, after the individual reports are processed at court. CONTACT: Veronica Bartella Quevedo 3338 Buenos Aires TEDESCO: Court Assigns Receiver for Bankruptcy Process ------------------------------------------------------ Court No. 22 of Buenos Aires designates Mr. Juan Enrique Reinhardt as receiver for the bankruptcy of local company Tedesco S.A., relates local news source Infobae. Clerk No. 43 assists the court on the case, the source adds. Creditors must have their claims authenticated by the receiver before February 2, 2004. The receiver will prepare the individual reports after that date and present them to the court on March 15. The general report, prepared after the individual reports are processed at court, will be filed on April 29. The results of the verification process will determine the distribution of payments to be made at the end of the bankruptcy process, after the Company's assets are liquidated. CONTACT: Juan Enrique Reinhardt Viamonte 1348 Buenos Aires TELEFONICA DE ARGENTINA: December 19 Shareholder Meeting Set ------------------------------------------------------------ Fixed-line provider Telefonica de Argentina SA (TAR) scheduled a shareholders meeting for Dec. 19 to discuss the exact terms of a newly created ARS1.5-billion bond program. According to Dow Jones, discussions will focus on the maturity, interest rates and whether the bonds will be traded on the open market. The bond program already has the approval of the Company’s board of directors, the Company said late Friday in a filing to the Buenos Aires stock exchange. CONTACT: TELEFONICA DE ARGENTINA Tucuman 1, 18th Floor, 1049 Buenos Aires, Argentina Phone: (212) 688-6840 Home Page: http://www.telefonica.com.ar Contacts: Carlos Fernandez-Prida Mendez Nunez, Chairman Paul Burton Savoldelli, Vice Chairman Fernando Raul Borio, Secretary VPF: Claims Deadline Expires Today ---------------------------------- Creditors of Buenos Aires-based VPF S.R.L. must have their claims authenticated by the Company's receiver as the deadline expires today. The receiver, Mr. Dante Francisco Giampaolo, will start preparing the individual reports. The city's Court No. 13 issued the bankruptcy order, the Troubled Company Reporter – Latin America earlier said. Clerk No. 25 works with the court on the case. The receiver will prepare a general report after the individual reports are processed at court. Local sources did not mention the deadline for the submission of these reports. CONTACT: Dante Francisco Giampaolo Anchorena 672 Buenos Aires =========== B R A Z I L =========== CSN: Moody’s Raises Local, Foreign Currency Ratings --------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service upgraded its local currency rating on US$650 million of debt issued by Cia. Siderurgica Nacional (CSN), Latin America's second-largest steelmaker, to Ba3 from B1. In addition, Moody's raised CSN's foreign currency rating to B1 from B2, the rating the Brazilian government has. The action came after CSN reduced debt and boosted export sales. The rating increase “is the result of efforts we've made to increase productivity and reduce debt,” said Otaviano Lazcano, chief financial officer at CSN. “It will certainly tend to reduce our financial costs.” CSN took advantage of a 21% surge in the value of Brazil's currency this year against the U.S. dollar to reduce debt. CSN this month forecast BRL1 billion (US$340 million) of profit in 2003, reversing losses from a year earlier as steel sales outside Brazil surged. EMBRATEL: Telemar Reveals Buyout Plans, May Surprise Analysts ------------------------------------------------------------- Carlos Jereissati, a member of the board of Brazil’s largest fixed-line telephone company Telemar, said that the firm is considering a buyout of long-distance operator Embratel. According to Reuters, this announcement may come as a surprise to some analysts as the Company could be forbidden from making the acquisition. Under current rules, which were set for the sector when Brazil privatized its state telephone monopoly in 1998, fixed-line firms are not allowed to own Embratel as their geographical operating licenses overlap. U.S. phone company MCI, which has been plunged into bankruptcy by a huge accounting scandal, said earlier in November that it had put Embratel up for sale. Analysts have said Mexico's Telmex would be the most likely bidder and had all but ruled out bids from Telemar or rivals Brasil Telecom Participacoes and Telefonica due to the regulatory restrictions. TELEMAR: Cuts Previous Net Debt Forecast for the Year ----------------------------------------------------- Tele Norte Leste Participacoes (Telemar), Brazil’s largest fixed- line telephone company, expects to end the year with less debt than previously forecast, Reuters reports, citing a member of the firm’s board. The Company earlier said that it expects to end the year with net debt of BRL8.1 billion. But on Monday, board member Carlos Jereissati said Telemar expects to end this year with net debt of BRL7.6 billion (US$2.6 billion). The Company ended the third quarter with net debt of BRL8.7 billion. Telemar aimed to reduce its net debt to below BRL5 billion over the next two years while seeking ways to expand at home and abroad, the executive said. "We are going to clean up the liabilities and take advantage of every opportunity to grow," Jereissati said. CONTACT: TNE - INVESTOR RELATIONS Roberto Terziani Email: terziani@telemar.com.br Tel: 55 21 3131 1208 Carlos Lacerda Email: carlosl@telemar.com.br Tel: 55 21 3131 1314 Fax: 55 21 3131 1155 * Brazil’s Debt Rating Outlook May Be Changed to ‘Positive’ ----------------------------------------------------------- An official from ratings agency Standard & Poor’s in Brazil suggested that the outlook on the country’s sovereign debt rating may be changed to ‘positive’ from ‘stable’ as the country’s congress votes on changes in the tax and social security laws, relates Bloomberg. “Brazil is very close to a change in outlook to `positive,’” Regina Nunes, managing director of Standard & Poor's in Brazil said. A positive outlook means the rating may be raised, while a stable outlook means the rating is not likely to change. ========= C H I L E ========= AES GENER: Fitch Ups Ratings, Maintains Rating Watch Positive ------------------------------------------------------------- Fitch Ratings has upgraded the international senior unsecured local and foreign currency ratings of AES Gener S.A. (Gener) to 'BB-' from 'B+', as well as its Chilean national scale ratings to Chl 'BBB-(chl)' from Chl 'BB+(chl)'. All ratings remain on Rating Watch Positive. The upgrade and continued Rating Watch status of Gener reflects the company's continued favorable financial performance, improving local market characteristics, improved local and international capital market conditions and the strengthened financial position of Gener's majority shareholder, The AES Corporation (AES), which are all expected to support company's in-process recapitalization plan. The operating fundamentals of Gener continue to reflect the company's sound position in the Chilean electricity market. Through September 2003, Gener reported consolidated EBITDA-to- interest of 2.8 times (x) versus 2.2x through the comparable period of 2002. Additionally, consolidated leverage, as measured by debt-to-EBITDA, has improved to 5.2x at September 2003 from 6.2x last year. Market fundamentals have been improving. Electricity demand in Chile has grown by approximately 6% over the last twelve months and regulated prices have continued their upward trend, increasing approximately 8% in U.S. dollar terms in the October 2003 tariff reset. Gener further benefits from its project-like structural characteristics, including long-dated power purchase agreements (PPAs) with investment grade-rated customers and fuel supply contracts that moderate business risk. Additionally, international and local lending conditions have steadily improved since the beginning of the second quarter of 2003, reducing refinancing risk. Furthermore, an increase in activity in the local and international debt and equity markets should enable the company and AES to successfully sell shares of Gener held by its holding company, Inversiones Cachagua, and tap the international debt markets with its proposed US$400 million bond issuance. These sources of capital will be used to finance a tender offer for its outstanding Convertible bonds and Yankee bonds that mature in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Fitch will continue to monitor the company's progress in executing its plan. CONTACT: Jason T. Todd Chicago Phone: +1-312-368-3217 Carlos Diez Santiago Phone: +011-562-206-7171 Media Relations: Matt Burkhard New York Phone: +1-212-908-0540 VIDA PLENA: Upcoming Sale Attracts Only One Bidder -------------------------------------------------- Only one company presented an offer to buy intervened Chilean health insurer Vida Plena, the former health insurance subsidiary of intervened financial group Inverlink, reports Business News Americas. According to Tamara Agnic, Vida Plena’s provisional administrator, the potential buyer is a private healthcare entity whose identity will remain anonymous until a full analysis of its offer is undertaken. The results of this analysis will be published after November 28, Agnic added. The administrator is not obliged to accept the only offer on the table and in any case a full analysis has to be conducted to determine the solvency and financial structure of the bidding company and the guarantees and services the proposed bid will provide Vida Plena's existing affiliates, Agnic said. =================================== D O M I N I C A N R E P U B L I C =================================== TRICOM: Refutes Insurance Superintendent’s Claims ------------------------------------------------- Tricom, S.A., a full service communications services provider in the Dominican Republic, denied Insurance Superintendent Rafael Santos Badia's claim that Segna made investments in the telecommunications company, relates DR1 Daily News. Segna is a local insurance company intervened by the Insurance Superintendence last week. In a statement printed in Friday’s newspapers, Tricom said that the only relationship the Company had with Segna was that of insurer and insured. Tricom reported a net loss of US$21.8 million for the 2003 third quarter and US$61.9 million during the first nine months of the year. The Company's operations during the third quarter of the year continued to be under pressure from the devaluation of the Dominican peso, which reached approximately 90 percent over the last twelve months. As a result, the Company did not make an approximate US$11.4 million interest payment on its 11-3/8% Senior Notes due 2004, originally scheduled for September 2, 2003. The Company is in active dialogue with its bank lenders as well as an ad hoc committee representing holders of its 11-3/8% Senior Notes due 2004. The Company has engaged Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. to assist in evaluating financial and strategic alternatives, and formulate a restructuring plan, which may include the refinancing or restructuring of its existing debt or the sale of all, or a portion, of its assets or business to a third party. The Company is in discussions with a number of strategic and financial investors regarding a potential sale or recapitalization. ============= J A M A I C A ============= TCRL: Liquidation Process Enters Final Stages --------------------------------------------- The creditors of Town and Country Resorts Limited (TCRL) have until December 1 to make their claims, as the resort’s liquidator, Sophia Beckord, moves into the final stages of the liquidation process, RadioJamaica indicates. On December 29, a final meeting of creditors will be held at Enchanted Gardens in St. Ann at which time the final accounts of the liquidation will be presented. TCRL is formerly headed by Opposition Leader Edward Seaga. In August, Seaga announced that he had decided to liquidate TCRL and another company Premium Investments Limited (PIL), which both owe the government more than 100-million dollars in taxes and penalties. In a statement, Seaga said he placed PIL into voluntary liquidation in order that a liquidator can sell its assets to settle the indebtedness of TCRL. ======= P E R U ======= SIDERPERU: Schedules Meetings To Discuss Debt Refinancing --------------------------------------------------------- Siderperu bondholders are due to meet on November 28 to hear about the Peruvian steelmaker’s financial performance, reports Business News Americas. In a statement to the security regulator Conasev, the Lima-based company said that creditors will meet again on Dec. 9 to discuss the rescheduling of certain debts contained in the Company's global refinancing agreement of April 2002. If there is no quorum, the meeting will be rescheduled for December 12, the statement said. Siderperu has been hard-pressed this year to meet its obligations under the 2002 deal, partly because the increase in the cost of inputs since the beginning of 2003 has only recently been reflected in the price of its products. Siderperu, which is controlled by Peruvian holding company Sider Corp., posted a net loss of PEN2 million (US$580,000) for the third quarter of this year, the same as in the third quarter last year. ================================= T R I N I D A D & T O B A G O ================================= BWIA: CAA Strips Approval For Maintenance Inspections ----------------------------------------------------- The Trinidad & Tobago’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) removed BWIA’s authorization to conduct annual major inspections of its aircraft aviation, reports the Trinidad Guardian. These annual heavy maintenance inspections (C-checks) are conducted to ensure that planes are safe enough to be certified to fly. But BWIA has been outsourcing these operations since January, after it retrenched more than half of its maintenance engineers as part of a cost-cutting program that saw the dismissal of 471 employees. According to an exclusive report by the Trinidad Guardian in August, BWIA has been paying Air Canada US$23 million for the maintenance of its only Airbus Industrie A340 while it sent the aircraft to Portugal for repairs. Staff Hire, a company based in the UK, has also been contracted by BWIA to do maintenance work. While BWIA insisted the outsourcing is saving the airline money, sources in the carrier said outsourcing the maintenance work has cost millions of dollars. Although it didn’t find breach of any maintenance regulations, the CAA decided to remove its c-check approval to the airline to ensure no safety issues occur, since the carrier no longer has the staff to do the work. CONTACT: British West Indies Airways Phone: + 868 627 2942 E-mail: mailto:mail@bwee.com Home Page: http://www.bwee.com/ *********** 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 America is a daily newsletter co-published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Frederick, Maryland USA. John D. Resnick, Edem Psamathe P. Alfeche and Oona G. Oyangoren, Editors. Copyright 2003. All rights reserved. ISSN 1529-2746. This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or publication in any form (including e-mail forwarding, electronic re-mailing and photocopying) is strictly prohibited without prior written permission of the publishers. Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed. The TCR Latin America subscription rate is $575 per half-year, delivered via e-mail. 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