/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRLA

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRLA_Public/040915.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, September 15, 2004, Vol. 5, Issue 183 Headlines A R G E N T I N A ARGEN SERVI: Court OKs Creditor's Involuntary Bankruptcy Motion BANCO BISEL: Former Clients Sue Credit Agricole CAPEX: Reports Gloomier Results Due to Bigger Financial Losses CCI: Darby Files Involuntary Bankruptcy Petition CONCORDIA VIDEO: Gets Green Light to Proceed With Reorganization DEMYCO S.A.: Court OKs Creditor's Bankruptcy Call DINAR: Court Ratifies Bankruptcy Ruling DUSTON SACI: Court Declares Company Bankrupt MASTELLONE HERMANOS: Huff Blocks Accord On Debt Restructuring PRODECOM S.A.: Court Favors Creditor's Bankruptcy Petition ROYAL SHELL: Argentine Unit Eyed By PDVSA * ARGENTINA: Lavagna Junks Creditor Request For Talks B E R M U D A FOSTER WHEELER: Renews Global Alliance Agreement With Intergraph GLOBAL CROSSING: Seeks Additional NASDAQ Extension B R A Z I L CELG: Plans Share Offer, New Market Listing ELETROPAULO METROPOLITANA: May Get BRL770mln-Loan From BNDES ELETROPAULO METROPOLITANA: To Upgrade Shares To Bovespa Level 2 LIGHT SERVICOS: Plans Launch of PLC Internet Service C O L O M B I A EDT: Startup Telco Completes Payoff PAZ DEL RIO: Board To Assess Italian Firms' Proposal Thursday * S&P Assigns 'BB' Rating to Colombia's $500M Bond M E X I C O GRUPO IUSACELL: Signs Network Deal With Ectel HECLA MINING: Moody's Ups Sr. Implied Rating to Caa1 HYLSAMEX: Analysts Say Alfa To Expedite Sale TV AZTECA: Defines Road Map for Digital Transmissions - - - - - - - - ================= A R G E N T I N A ================= ARGEN SERVI: Court OKs Creditor's Involuntary Bankruptcy Motion --------------------------------------------------------------- Judge Bargallo of Court No. 11 declared Argentine cleaning company Argen Servi S.A. bankrupt, reports La Nacion. The ruling comes in approval of the bankruptcy petition filed by Ms. Norma Diaz for nonpayment of US$1477.33 in debt. Clerk No. 21, Dra. Macchi, assists the court on the case, which will conclude with the liquidation of the Company's assets. The Company's trustee, Mr. Ricardo Garcia, will examine and authenticate creditors' claims until October 28, 2004. This is done to determine the nature and amount of the Company's debts. Creditors must have their claims authenticated by the trustee by the said date in order to qualify for the payments that will be made after the Company's assets are liquidated. CONTACT: Argen Servi S.A. Scalabrini Ortiz 2894 Piso 5ų "B" Mr. Ricardo Garcia, TRUSTEE Lavalle 1206 Piso 2ų "C" BANCO BISEL: Former Clients Sue Credit Agricole ----------------------------------------------- Thirty-seven former customers of Banco Bisel have filed suit against French bank Credit Agricole (CA), the Argentine bank's former parent, claiming EUR7.5 million in owed deposits plus damages and interest, reports the Europe Intelligence Wire. The suit stems from the CA's withdrawal from Argentina in the midst of the country's financial crisis in 2002, and its decision to close down Banco Bisel's branches in the country. In their suit, the plaintiffs claim that CA failed to meet its commitments to customers with its refusal to infuse new capital into Banco Bisel after the Argentinian Peso was devalued in January 2002. CA then closed Banco Bisel's branches the following May. By comparison, rival French bank Societe Generale injected US$50 million into its own Argentinian subsidiary at the time. In response, the lawyers of the French bank said its actions were within Argentine law, and that Banco Bisel and CA were two distinct institutions. The hearing will commence on November 10. CAPEX: Reports Gloomier Results Due to Bigger Financial Losses -------------------------------------------------------------- Argentine gas producer and power generator Capex posted bigger losses for the quarter ended July 31, 2004, reports Business News Americas, citing a company filing to the Buenos Aires stock exchange. In the filing, the company revealed losses of ARS20.6 million (US$6.9 million) in the recent quarter, compared to ARS272,000 in the same quarter last year. The company attributed the recent quarter's poor results to financial losses of ARS31.2 million. In the same period a year ago, financial losses were ARS6.98 million. Capex registered a 20.9% increase in sales to ARS72.5 million, of which power sales (1,225MWh) represented 62%, oil sales (25,280 cubic meters) represented 20.8%, propane (9,226 tonnes) represented 11.7% and butane (5,661 tonnes) represented 5.5%. Capex produces natural gas at the Agua del Cajon area of Neuquen province, where it has a wellhead power plant. CONTACT: Capex SA 5/F DepartmentC 948/950 Av Cordoba Buenos Aires Argentina Phone: +54 11 4322 4884 Home Page: http://www.capex.com.ar Contact: Enrique Gotz, Chairman Dr. Alejandro Enrique Gotz, Vice Chairman CCI: Darby Files Involuntary Bankruptcy Petition ------------------------------------------------ Just like the International Finance Corporation (IFC), investment fund Darby International Latin American Mezzanine Holding Ltd. has filed for the involuntary bankruptcy of Argentine toll concessionaire Compania de Concesiones Infraestructura (CCI), as part of a dispute over the repayment of a loan granted by the IFC and the fund before the devaluation of the Argentine currency. Both the IFC and Darby filed the bankruptcy petitions before commercial court 26, secretariat 46, after failing to reach an agreement with CCI. The dispute is related to a US$50-million loan that the IFC and Darby granted to CCI in January 2000 in exchange for a pledge on shares representing 60% of CCI's capital stock. While CCI wants to convert the loan into Argentine pesos at a one to one rate, the IFC and Darby refuse to accept this condition, they want to be paid off in US dollars. CONCORDIA VIDEO: Gets Green Light to Proceed With Reorganization ---------------------------------------------------------------- Judge Herrera of Court No. 3 approved the "Concurso Preventivo" petition filed by Argentine cable TV provider Concordia Video Cable S.A., reports local news source La Nacion. The Company, which listed assets of US$14,238,704.65 and liabilities of US$2,897,944.99, will undergo a reorganization process, with Estudio Susana L. Prisant y Asociados as trustee. The trustee will verify creditors' proofs of claim until November 1, 2004. Verifications are done to ascertain the nature and amount of the Company's debts. The receiver will also prepare the individual and general reports on the case. The informative assembly, one of the last parts of the reorganization process, will be held on August 10, 2005 Clerk No. 5, Dra. Villaroel, assists the court on the case. CONTACT: Concordia Video Cable S.A. Avenida Leandro N. Alem 822 Piso 6ų Estudio Susana L. Prisant y Asociados, TRUSTEE Avenida Cordoba Piso 13ų "92" DEMYCO S.A.: Court OKs Creditor's Bankruptcy Call -------------------------------------------------- Argentine road construction firm Demyco S.A. entered bankruptcy after Judge Bavastro of Court No. 17 approved a bankruptcy motion filed by Citibank NA, reports La Nacion. The Company's failure to pay USUS$3,139,950 in debt prompted the bank to file the petition. Working with Dr. Trevino, the city's Clerk No. 33, the court assigned Ms. Maria Tynik as trustee for the bankruptcy process. The trustee's duties include the authentication of the Company's debts and the preparation of the individual and general reports. Creditors are required to present their proofs of claim to the receiver before November 4, 2004. The Company's assets will be liquidated at the end of the bankruptcy process to repay creditors. Payments will be based on the results of the verification process. CONTACT: Demyco S.A. Avenida Cordoba 315 Planta Baja Ms. Maria Tynik, TRUSTEE Avenida Rivadavia 10.444 Piso 8ų "A" DINAR: Court Ratifies Bankruptcy Ruling --------------------------------------- A Salta-based court has ratified a first instance ruling ordering the bankruptcy of Argentine airline Dinar Lineas Aereas S.A. In the good times, the carrier reached a 15% share in the domestic market and it still has some important assets, including three planes and domestic and international routes. Nevertheless, its debts amount to US$50 million, which will be hard to pay with Dinar's assets. Some of the assets have been slowly deteriorating during the company's one and a half year out of operation. CONTACT: Dinar Lineas Aereas S.A. Mitre 101 Salta Estudio Gauffin Fassini y Asociados, Trustee General Guemes 1587 Salta DUSTON SACI: Court Declares Company Bankrupt -------------------------------------------- Judge Carrega of Court No. 4 declared Argentine plastics company Duston SACI y F "Quiebra", reports La Nacion. The court approved the bankruptcy petition filed by Union de Obreros y Empleados Plasticos to whom the Company failed to pay debts amounting to US$3,437.24. The Company will undergo the bankruptcy process with Mr. Pablo Aguilar as trustee. Creditors are required to present their proofs of claim to Mr. Aguilar for verification before November 17, 2004. Creditors who fail to have their claims authenticated by the said date will be disqualified from the payments that will be made after the Company's assets are liquidated at the end of the bankruptcy process. Clerk No. 8, Dr. Anta, assists the court on the case. CONTACT: Duston SACI y F Pedro Varela 3676 Mr. Pablo Aguilar, TRUSTEE Hipolito Yrigoyen 1516 Piso 3ų "L" MASTELLONE HERMANOS: Huff Blocks Accord On Debt Restructuring ------------------------------------------------------------- A committee of bondholders headed by New Jersey distress fund W.R. Huff Asset Management is opposing the US$330-million debt restructuring offer of Argentine dairy company Mastellone Hermanos while it requests an improvement in the proposal. Huff holds around 17% of Mastellone's debt and heads a group of creditors that gather 34% of the debt. Such percentage is enough to prevent Mastellone from reaching the necessary backing rates to submit an out-of-court settlement (APE) for court approval and make it binding to all creditors. So the committee of creditors has managed to block the accord and ask for an improvement in the terms of the offer. Mastellone's proposal has two alternatives, the first of which is a US$600 million cash payment for each US$1,000 of face value. The second alternative offers two different notes in exchange for old ones: one with maturity in 2014 that will be fully amortized at the end of the term and one with maturity in 2011. This offer has gained acceptance from the majority of the banks, which hold US$104 million of the debt. On the other hand, bondholders are more reluctant to accept the offer. Holders of barely 12% of the total have agreed to the offer so far. CONTACT: Mr. Pascual Mastellone, President MASTELLONE HERMANOS S.A. Av. Leandro N. Alem 720 (1001) - Buenos Aires Argentina Phone: 54 1 318-5000 Fax: 54 1 313-6822 PRODECOM S.A.: Court Favors Creditor's Bankruptcy Petition ---------------------------------------------------------- Diego Cruz Estevarena successfully sought for the bankruptcy of Prodecom S.A. after Judge Gutierrez Cabello of Court No. 7 declared the Company "Quiebra," reports La Nacion. As such, Prodecom will now start the bankruptcy process with Mr. Jorge Alvarez as trustee. Creditors of the Company must submit their proofs of claim to the trustee before November 8, 2004 for authentication. Failure to do so will mean a disqualification from the payments that will be made after the Company's assets are liquidated. Dra. O'Reilly, Clerk No. 13, assists the court on the case, which will culminate in the liquidation of all of its assets. CONTACT: Prodecom SA Metan 3773/75 Mr. Jorge Alvarez, TRUSTEE Bartolome Mitre 1738 Piso 6ų "D" ROYAL SHELL: Argentine Unit Eyed By PDVSA ----------------------------------------- A director of Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) has confirmed that the Venezuelan state oil firm is keen on acquiring the Argentine unit of Anglo-Dutch oil company Shell, reports BNamericas, citing Venezuelan newspaper reports. According to the reports, PDVSA director Victor Alvarez made the comments in Buenos Aires during a preparatory meeting for the second bi-national business meeting to be held in that city in March 2005. "Venezuela is interested in exporting some of its crude to Argentina, in producing lubricants and fuel, and in acquiring Argentine products to meet the demand of PDVSA and other industries," Mr. Alvarez said. Buying Shell's Argentine unit, which could be carried out through a joint venture with Argentina's proposed state oil company Enarsa, is one of a number of options PDVSA is considering to process Venezuelan crude in Argentina. * ARGENTINA: Lavagna Junks Creditor Request For Talks ----------------------------------------------------- In a move that could trigger a wave of lawsuits from bondholders, Argentine Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna has dismissed a request by the Global Committee of Argentina Bondholders for negotiations on the restructuring of about US$100 billion in bonds, Bloomberg reports. According to the minister, the bondholders have "waited too long for a conciliatory message", and that negotiations are over. Hans Humes, co-chairman of the Global Committee of Argentina Bondholders, which represents about one-third of creditors, said bondholders holding as much as US$40 billion of defaulted debt could go to court with Mr. Lavagna's refusal to negotiate. "If we sit down, we can probably work out something,'' said Mr. Humes, who manages US$750 million of emerging market debt, including Argentine bonds, at Greylock Capital Management. Argentina offered in June to pay creditors 25 cents per each dollar of defaulted debt, as measured by the discounted present value of the bonds' payments. The country said last week that it will present its proposal to investors before yearend after it secures regulatory approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Argentina committed to engage in "good faith" talks with creditors as part of a US$13.3-billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund signed in 2003. ============= B E R M U D A ============= FOSTER WHEELER: Renews Global Alliance Agreement With Intergraph ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Process, Power & Marine division of Intergraph Corporation (NASDAQ:INGR) announced Monday that Foster Wheeler Inc. has renewed its Global Alliance Agreement for another three-year term. The agreement provides for unlimited use of software licenses for SmartPlant(R) P&ID, SmartPlant Review, SmartPlant Electrical, SmartPlant Explorer, SmartSketch(R), INtools(R), PDS(R) (Plant Design System) and Pelican Forge SupportModeler. Foster Wheeler engineering centers in the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific are covered under the agreement. The Global Alliance Agreement provides flexible software use and a worldwide software standard to reduce administrative and project costs while improving competitive advantage. Key to Project Completion Keith Lucas, manager of applications IT, Foster Wheeler Energy Limited, a U.K. affiliate of Foster Wheeler Inc. said, "Intergraph software is key to timely and efficient completion of Foster Wheeler's projects worldwide. Because the Intergraph portfolio supports a sizeable part of our business processes, Foster Wheeler elected to renew the Global Alliance Agreement for another three years." Kevin Stanley, senior vice president, Americas & Asia Pacific business unit, Intergraph Process, Power & Marine, said, "Foster Wheeler is one of the world's most prestigious engineering and construction firms and has long been an important Intergraph client. The renewed agreement demonstrates Foster Wheeler's continuing commitment to Intergraph engineering enterprise integration technologies." Intergraph announced the Foster Wheeler transaction at the APEX Summit international conference which continues through Wednesday at The Woodlands Resort & Conference Center. About Foster Wheeler Foster Wheeler (OTC:FWLRF) is a global company offering, through its subsidiaries, a broad range of design, engineering, construction, manufacturing, project development and management, research and plant operation services. Foster Wheeler serves the refining, upstream oil and gas, LNG and gas-to-liquids, petrochemicals, chemicals, power, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and healthcare industries. The corporation is based in Hamilton, Bermuda, and its operational headquarters are in Clinton, New Jersey, USA. Process, Power & Marine: Integrating the Engineering Enterprise Process, Power & Marine (ppm.intergraph.com) is a provider of intelligent software and services enabling companies to integrate engineering information to promote profitability, improve operational excellence and safety and manage assets. The company helps clients bring together the people, work processes and advanced technology to create the global engineering enterprise. Built on a quarter century of experience, Process, Power & Marine supplies innovative lifecycle solutions for concurrent engineering design, construction and operation. Serving the process manufacturing, power generation, marine oil and gas and commercial shipbuilding markets, Process, Power & Marine is a division of Intergraph Corporation and is headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, USA. GLOBAL CROSSING: Seeks Additional NASDAQ Extension -------------------------------------------------- Global Crossing (NASDAQ: GLBCE) announced Monday that it is requesting an additional extension until September 24, 2004 from the NASDAQ Listing Qualifications Panel for returning to compliance with NASDAQ listing requirements. Global Crossing's common stock will continue to trade on the NASDAQ National Market while the Panel considers Global Crossing's request. The company will provide prompt public disclosure after the Panel issues its decision. Global Crossing has consulted with its independent auditors and outside accounting experts regarding the proper accounting treatment of the previously disclosed adjustment to the company's 2003 cost of access expenses. The company has also sought guidance from the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission. After careful analysis and deliberation, the company has concluded that the appropriate accounting treatment of this adjustment is as a correction of an error. Accordingly, the company will file a restatement of its previously filed financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2003. Grant Thornton is considering the reissuance of its audit reports on the company's 2001 and 2002 financial statements and the company's restated 2003 financial statements. If Grant Thornton determines that it is not in a position to issue such audit reports, the company will file unaudited financial statements for such years in an amendment to its previously filed annual report on Form 10-K for 2003. In these circumstances, the company would request a further extension from the NASDAQ Listing Qualifications Panel while the company would seek to engage another independent auditor to audit these financial statements. The company has determined that the amount of the adjustment to its 2003 cost of access expenses is $67 million. The company's July 30, 2004 announcement of an approximately $54 million adjustment, net of vendor dispute settlements, reflected the netting of dispute settlement gains, then estimated at $13 million, against this $67 million adjustment. These vendor settlement gains will be recorded in 2004, in accordance with the company's historical accounting policy to recognize settlement gains in the period in which settlement is reached. There will also be a separate adjustment for an approximately $12 million balance sheet reclassification related to certain pre-petition settlements with access providers that were incorrectly applied to post-petition cost of access liability accounts and due to certain cost of access liability amounts that were incorrectly eliminated in fresh start accounting. No adjustments are required to the cost of access liabilities or expenses at or prior to December 31, 2002. The company will restate its previously issued consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2003 and for the periods January 1, 2003 to December 9, 2003 and December 10, 2003 to December 31, 2003 and as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2003, June 30, 2003 and September 30, 2003. The restatement will result in (i) an increase in the cost of access liabilities of approximately $79 million from $150 million to $229 million as of December 31, 2003; (ii) an increase in cost of access expense of approximately $2 million for the period December 10, 2003 to December 31, 2003, resulting in an increase in the operating loss for this period from $8 million to $10 million and an increase in the net loss from $9 million to $11 million for this period; and (iii) an increase in cost of access expense of approximately $65 million for the period January 1, 2003 to December 9, 2003, resulting in an increase in the operating loss for this period from $133 million to $198 million and an increase in the net loss excluding gains on emergence from bankruptcy from $230 million to $295 million. As indicated above, included in the $79 million adjustment to the cost of access liabilities at December 31, 2003 is an adjustment for an approximately $12 million balance sheet reclassification. Cost of access includes usage-based charges paid to other carriers to originate and terminate voice services, leased line charges for dedicated facilities and local loop charges, and usage-based Internet peering charges. ABOUT GLOBAL CROSSING Global Crossing (NASDAQ: GLBCE) provides telecommunications solutions over the world's first integrated global IP-based network. Its core network connects more than 300 cities and 30 countries worldwide, and delivers services to more than 500 major cities, 50 countries and 6 continents around the globe. The company's global sales and support model matches the network footprint and, like the network, delivers a consistent customer experience worldwide. Global Crossing IP services are global in scale, linking the world's enterprises, governments and carriers with customers, employees and partners worldwide in a secure environment that is ideally suited for IP-based business applications, allowing e- commerce to thrive. The company offers a full range of managed data and voice products including Global Crossing IP VPN Service, Global Crossing Managed Services and Global Crossing VoIP services, to more than 40 percent of the Fortune 500, as well as 700 carriers, mobile operators and ISPs. CONTACT: GLOBAL CROSSING Press Contacts Becky Yeamans + 1 973-937-0155 PR@globalcrossing.com Tisha Kresler + 1 917-270-0079 PR@globalcrossing.com Catherine Berthier +1 646-862-8514 PR@globalcrossing.com Fernanda Marques + 55 21-3820-4712 LatAmPR@globalcrossing.com Kirstie Phimister Europe + 44 (0) 1256-734063 EuropePR@globalcrossing.com Analysts/Investors Contact Mitch Burd +1 800-836-0342 glbc@globalcrossing.com =========== B R A Z I L =========== CELG: Plans Share Offer, New Market Listing ------------------------------------------- In a statement on Friday, Brazilian state energy firm Companhia Energetica de Goias (Celg) unveiled its plans for a secondary stock offering and list on a division of Brazil's stock market that demands greater transparency and shareholder rights called the New Market, reveals Reuters. Celg's move would involve the removal of the few preferred shares from circulation and listing at least 25 percent of its voting stock (CGOS3.SA) on the market. According to Celg finance director Javahe de Lima, the planned operation aims to partially cover the BRL675-million (US$233 million) debt owed by the government of the central state of Goias to the company. "The government is going to liquidate the debt with the sale of shares," he said. Celg, however, assured that control of the firm would still be in the hands of the Goias government after the share sale, studies on which are being finalized. The official said that the firm intends to decide on the move in an extraordinary shareholder meeting, which he hopes would be held at some stage in the next two weeks. The firm also expects to carry out the share offer before the year ends. So far, there are three companies listed in the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange's (Bovespa) New Market, namely: cosmetics firm Natura Cosmeticos , waterworks Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado do Sao Paulo (Sabesp) (SBSP3.SA), and toll road operator Companhia de Concessoes Rodoviarias (CCR) (CCRO3.SA). Celg, which reported a BRL308-million profit last year, has about 1.8 million clients, supplies energy to some 97 percent of the population of the state of Goias, and employs 3,900 people. ELETROPAULO METROPOLITANA: May Get BRL770mln-Loan From BNDES ------------------------------------------------------------ Electric power distributor Eletropaulo Metropolitana (ELPL4.BR) may find itself at the receiving end of up to BRL770 million ($1=BRL2.905) from Brazilian state-run development bank BNDES as part of a compensation package for electric power distributors, says Dow Jones. In a conference call, Eletropaulo Chief Financial Officer Andrea Ruschmann said that BNDES would buy debentures convertible into Eletropaulo shares equivalent to 50% of the firm's short-term debts - calculated as that which expires within 12 months - at lower interest rates and for periods of between six and 10 years. Eletropaulo has short-term debts of about BRL1.1 billion, equivalent to 19% of total debts of BRL5.6 billion reported at the end of the second quarter, Ms. Ruschmann said. The cheap credit BNDES is offering to power distributors is compensation for a government-imposed power rationing in 2001 and 2002 that lasted nine months. According to Ms. Ruschmann, the final amount of the loan, which would be used entirely to prepay existing debts, extending terms and reducing costs, will vary according to the bank's evaluation of financial documents deposited one month ago. She also said she expects BNDES to respond before the end of the year. Eletropaulo also said the company's overall debt load would not increase with the BNDES loan. One of the requirements for companies to be included in the bailout program is to list Level 2 shares in Sao Paulo's Bovespa stock exchange within two years after obtaining the loan. Level 2 requires more stringent commitments to corporate governance and additional rights for nonvoting shareholders, such as some tag-along rights. Eletropaulo, however, preempted this requirement by filing documents with securities regulator CVM on Monday, a move which paved the way for adherence to Level 2. CONTACT: ELETROPAULO METROPOLITANA Avenida Alfredo Egidio de Souza Aranha 100-B, 13 andar 04726-270 San Paulo Brazil Phone: +55-11-548-9461, +55 11 5696 3595 Fax: +55-11-546-1933 URL: http://www.eletropaulo.com.br Contacts: Luiz D. Travesso, Chairman and President Orestes Gonzalves Jr., VP Finance/Investor Relations ELETROPAULO METROPOLITANA: To Upgrade Shares To Bovespa Level 2 --------------------------------------------------------------- In a move aimed at improving its access to financial markets, Brazilian power distributor Eletropaulo Metropolitana is planning to upgrade its shares to level 2 of the Sao Paulo stock exchange (Bovespa) by the end of the year, BNamericas reports, citing Eletropaulo chief financial officer Andrea Ruschmann. "The decision to list Eletropaulo's shares as level 2 is aligned with the management's decision to increase transparency and move closer to the financial markets," Ms. Ruschmann said. Being "closer to financial markets" means the company can obtain new loans to lengthen its BRL5.6-billion (US$1.9bn) debt. The greater transparency required for level 2 shares increases the likelihood of raising financing and of obtaining a bailout loan from Brazil's development bank BNDES, Ms. Ruschmann said. According to the executive, the shares upgrade has already been approved by US power firm AES (NYSE: AES), Eletropaulo's parent company, and BNDES, but has yet to meet the approval of power regulator Aneel. Eletropaulo, along with two other power firms, has filed to obtain part of a BRL3-billion bailout loan package offered by BNDES. Ms. Ruschmann said Eletropaulo is also planning to meet with investors in "non-deal" road shows as part of the company's drive to improve access to financial markets. LIGHT SERVICOS: Plans Launch of PLC Internet Service ---------------------------------------------------- Light Servicos network and telecom manager Paulo Magalhaes revealed to BNamericas on Monday the Brazilian power firm's plans of launching internet service using power line communications (PLC) technology over its electricity grid. According to Mr. Magalhaes, "There is research that estimates unmet demand at 1.5 million lines in greater Rio de Janeiro. We cannot give details on our goals but obviously we will try to maximize our numbers". The company aims to launch PLC early next year, but the timing all depends on when the new service's business and sales structure is defined, he added. Light plans to initially offer its internet service in the city of Rio de Janeiro and will then expand to other municipalities based on demand, according to Mr. Magalhaes. The company still has to seek the approval of telecom regulator Anatel, which must verify that the company's equipment are up to standards, before it can launch its internet service. Light would then have to request the regulator for an SCM broadband & video license and an STFC phone line license, Mr. Magalhaes said. Since Light is not authorized to provide telecom services, the power distributor is required by existing regulations to create a company that offers internet services, which would signal a formal entry into the telecom sector. To do so, Light will need investment partners along with technology partners to supply equipment and operate the network. Mr. Magalhaes also gave the assurance that its planned launch of broadband service will not impact its debt rescheduling talks with private banks. To provide broadband service, Light will install a small piece of equipment known as "modem PLC" to any electrical outlet connected to the computer via another cable. "Master" equipment is installed in the building's external electrical network, next to the energy transformer, to communicate with all of the "PLC modems" by sending signals via the existing electrical network. The master equipment is also connected to the internet circuit. Mr. Magalhaes said the company also aims to serve remote areas by eventually using satellite transmission. Light, which currently has 3.6 million electricity clients, is a unit of Electricite de France (EDF) and operates in 31 municipalities in Rio de Janeiro state, including the capital city. CONTACT: LIGHT SERVICOS DE ELETRICIDADE S.A. Avenida Marechal Floriano, 168 20080-002 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Phone: +55-21-2211-2794 Fax: +55-21-2211-2993 Home Page: http://www.lightrio.com.br Contact: Bo Gosta Kallstrand, Chairman Michel Gaillard, President and CEO Joel Nicolas, Executive Director, Operation Paulo Roberto Ribeiro Pinto, Executive Director, Investor Relations and CFO =============== C O L O M B I A =============== EDT: Startup Telco Completes Payoff ----------------------------------- The Colombian government announced in a statement that startup telco Barranquilla Telecomunicaciones has completed a COP42- billion (US$16.63 million) advance payment for a 15-month lease of bankrupt municipal telco EDT's network infrastructure, relates BNamericas. The payment made by Barranquilla Telecomunicaciones, now responsible for service to EDT's former clients, includes nearly COP35 billion the government secured in loans from local banks Megabanco, Granahorrar and Colpatria, which are backed by a guarantee from national development institution Findeter. The payment also allows EDT to pay severance packages for 80% of its workforce. So far, EDT has already terminated a number of work contracts and paid 424 severances. However, Evamaria Uribe, head of public services regulator Superservicios, said a decision has yet to be reached on the case of 90 workers who, as union leaders, were exempt from downsizing. In order to resolve EDT's woes, the government is planning to sell EDT's assets and an ownership stake in Barranquilla Telecomunicaciones, which is nominally owned by five state institutions. PAZ DEL RIO: Board To Assess Italian Firms' Proposal Thursday ------------------------------------------------------------- The board of Colombian iron and steel company Acerias Paz del Rio is set to meet on Thursday with representatives of Italian firms interested in carrying out the company's US$35-million industrial rationalization plan, reveals BNamericas. The Italian companies are slated to unveil during the meeting their latest proposals for the plan, which includes the installation of a continuous casting machine, a ladle furnace and a hot roller. Paz del Rio chief executive officer Alberto Hadad said that technical, economic, financial and legal evaluations will be reviewed through a process approved by the board to decide what is best for the company. "It is the first time in company history that we are not buying just for [the sake of] buying, but rather buying the best [equipment], with very technical criteria". Therefore, prudence and care must be exercised in making this decision, he said. According to a Paz del Rio shareholder, Italian firm Danieli, which teamed up with German company Ferrostaal to offer a turnkey project, is touted to win the contract for the plan. The industrial rationalization is designed to allow the company to reduce production costs by US$32/t and increase steel production capacity from the current 260,000t/y to 500,000t/y in 10 years. The company's sales are expected to exceed US$157 million this year, while profits by the end of September is projected to reach US$31.5 million. * S&P Assigns 'BB' Rating to Colombia's $500M Bond -------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'BB' rating to the Republic of Colombia's planned US$500 million bond due 2014. Standard & Poor's also said that it affirmed its 'BB' long-term and 'B' short-term foreign, and its 'BBB' long-term and 'A-3' short-term local, currency sovereign credit ratings on Colombia. The outlook on the ratings remains stable. According to Standard & Poor's Credit Analyst Richard Francis, the ratings reflect the prospects of higher economic growth and continued prudent fiscal policy that should help the government come close to meeting its 2.5% and 2.4% overall public sector deficit targets for 2004 and 2005, respectively. Additional financing from privatization revenue in both years would allow for slightly higher deficits of 2.8% and 2.9%, respectively. "The country's economic growth prospects are also improving and projected to rise by over 4% in both 2004 and 2005," said Mr. Francis. "The higher growth reflects a sharp increase in investment and domestic confidence due to President Alvaro Uribe's successful strategy of improving national security while maintaining macroeconomic stability. The bilateral free-trade agreement with the U.S. now being negotiated could also underpin growth prospects in the medium term by increasing foreign direct investment and boosting nontraditional exports," he added. Mr. Francis explained that the government's underlying fiscal position remains highly inflexible due to large, legally mandated transfers to local governments and public pension systems and to the interest on the government's debt. "Further reform in the areas of taxes, transfers, and pensions will therefore be needed over the next three years in order to maintain fiscal discipline," noted Mr. Francis. "If there is significant fiscal slippage or a sharp deterioration in the nation's security, there could be renewed downward pressure on the government's creditworthiness. If, on the other hand, fiscal prospects improve further and the debt and interest burdens decline, the ratings could improve," he concluded. ANALYST: Richard Francis, New York (1)-212-438-7348 =========== M E X I C O =========== GRUPO IUSACELL: Signs Network Deal With Ectel ------------------------------------------------ ECtel Ltd. (Nasdaq: ECTX), a leading provider of Fraud Prevention and Revenue Assurance solutions, announced Monday that it has received an order from Grupo Iusacell, S.A. de C.V. (NYSE: CEL; BMV: CEL) (Iusacell), a Mexican wireless cellular (CDMA) and PCS service provider, for an integrated, network-wide Fraud Prevention and Revenue Assurance solution. Iusacell is a member of the Grupo Salinas industrial group and serves more than 1.3 million subscribers in seven of Mexico's nine regions. ECtel's solution for Iusacell includes a real-time I-Probe(TM) platform together with its industry-leading FraudView(TM) and CashView(TM) application suites for rooting out and shutting down various sources of revenue leakage. "ECtel's 'One-Platform Multiple-Application' takes a comprehensive cost- effective approach, addressing both external and internal sources of revenue leakage," said Ing. Eduardo Kuri Romo, Iusacell's Director of System Engineering. "We expect the system to enhance both our top and bottom-line performance, resulting in a rapid ROI and a significant improvement of our long-term profitability." The ECtel solution consists of both hardware and software components. ECtel's proprietary I-Probe(TM) platform will be deployed in Iusacell's Interconnect Network to gather and groom unbiased call data and feed real-time data to ECtel monitoring and analysis applications. Utilizing advanced algorithms and Rules-Based filtering, ECtel's FraudView(TM) will sift call data continuously to identify fraud-in-the-making and facilitate operator intervention. ECtel's CashView(TM) uses state-of-the- art datamining techniques to correlate actual call data with provisioning, billing chain, CRM and other records, highlighting the faulty back-office processes, definitions and configurations that lead to billing discrepancies. The system's user-friendly "dashboards," alerts and reports are designed to assist personnel throughout the company take the necessary actions to stop fraud and correct revenue leakage. "We are pleased that another major Latin American operator has chosen ECtel to be its partner in the fight against fraud and revenue leakage," said Mr. Eitan Naor, President and CEO of ECtel. "We look forward to a successful deployment of our integrated Fraud Prevention and Revenue Assurance solution. We are confident that our proven network-wide approach will deliver comprehensive protection and significant value." About Iusacell Grupo Iusacell, S.A. de C.V. (Iusacell, NYSE: CEL; BMV: CEL) is a wireless cellular and PCS service provider in seven of Mexico's nine regions, including Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana, Acapulco, Puebla, Lesn and Merida. The Company's service regions encompass a total of approximately 92 million POPs, representing approximately 90% of the country's total population. About ECtel Ltd. ECtel is a leading global provider of cutting-edge Fraud Prevention and Revenue Assurance solutions for converged telecommunications networks. Based on proprietary state-of-the- art hardware and software technologies, ECtel's cost-effective systems are used by premier telecommunications operators throughout the world. ECtel Ltd. is traded on Nasdaq under the symbol ECTX. CONTACTS: ECtel Ltd. Avi Goldstein Senior Vice President and CFO Tel: +1-301-354-1113 Fax: +1-301-428-0505 Email: avig@ectel.com ECtel Ltd. Chris Denis Investor Relations Coordinator Tel: 954-351-4492 Fax: 954-351-4430 Email: chrisd@ectel.com HECLA MINING: Moody's Ups Sr. Implied Rating to Caa1 ---------------------------------------------------- Moody's Investors Service upgraded the senior implied rating of Hecla Mining Company (Hecla) to Caa1 from Caa2 with a stable outlook. The upgrade reflects Hecla's improved cash flow generation, increased liquidity, and relatively stronger balance sheet. The ratings also reflect the short indicated life of its gold operations, based on current proven and probable reserves, and political risk related to the Venezuelan gold operations. Hecla also faces great uncertainty regarding environmental liabilities and potentially sizable costs for remediation and environmental compliance. But according to Moody's, Hecla, over the past two years, has benefited significantly from higher prices for silver and gold as well as increased ore production at some of its mines. In addition, the improved market conditions have allowed Hecla to strengthen its liquidity and balance sheet. At the company's silver operations of San Sebastian in Mexico and Greens Creek in Alaska, where gold is treated as a by- product and reduces the overall cost (cash cost) of producing silver, a combination of higher realized gold prices and increased production significantly lowered cash costs in 2002 and 2003. Headquartered in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho, Hecla Mining Company, is a precious metals company with mining operations in the United States, Mexico, and Venezuela. HYLSAMEX: Analysts Say Alfa To Expedite Sale -------------------------------------------- With international steel prices expected to drop next year, analysts are predicting that Mexican conglomerate Alfa will be encouraged to speed up the partial or total sale of Hylsamex, its steel making division, after March next year when the disincorporation process of the latter is completed, relates El Economista. According to Merrill Lynch Vice President of Research Carlos Perylongue, "Steel prices will begin to come down next year by around 15%, and I believe that they must be thinking about this possibility [the sale of Hylsamex], although they would only be selling the business of long, specialized steels, which is a small part". Alfa has already distributed among its shareholders 39.37% of its 89.97% stock in Hylsamex, with the remaining 51% to be disincorporated in March 2005. Hylsamex's debt, say experts, will be reduced to zero during the next 18 months due the boom in international steel prices. CONTACT: HYLSAMEX S.A. DE C.V. Munich 101 San Nicolas de los Garza Nuevo Leon 66452 Mexico Phone: 52-8-328-2828 TV AZTECA: Defines Road Map for Digital Transmissions ----------------------------------------------------- TV Azteca, S.A. de C.V. (NYSE: TZA - News; BMV: TVAZTCA), one of the two largest producers of Spanish- language television programming in the world, presented Monday its strategy to gradually upgrade its analogue broadcasting stations throughout Mexico into digital transmission sites. TV Azteca committed before the Mexican Communications and Transport Ministry (SCT) to adopt technological standards for over-the-air digital television under its licenses, recently renewed. Pursuant to its commitment the company will upgrade the 555 over-the-air transmitters of its networks' signal throughout Mexico, on a progressive basis, to allow for digital retransmission into the television households reached by TV Azteca. The company currently beams digital broadcast signal via satellite to its distribution sites in Mexico, and the new strategy will enable TV Azteca to bring the digital signal into its viewers' homes. The project, approved by the SCT, entails completing digital transmission nationwide by 2021. The schedule for the plan starts with nine of the most important Mexican markets, including Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and some major border urban areas, which altogether represent 33 million people. The first cities are expected to be upgraded by 2009. The company noted that its decision to pioneer digital transmission in Mexico reflects TV Azteca's interest in replicating domestically a worldwide trend of improving viewing quality through higher signal definition standards. The company expects that, given its gradual nature, the digital plan does not have any material impact on TV Azteca's annual capex for any given year going forward. TV Azteca is one of the two largest producers of Spanish- language television programming in the world, operating two national television networks in Mexico, Azteca 13 and Azteca 7, through more than 300 owned and operated stations across the country. TV Azteca affiliates include Azteca America Network, a new broadcast television network focused on the rapidly growing US Hispanic market, and Todito.com, an Internet portal for North American Spanish speakers. *********** 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 Lucilo Junior M. Pinili, Editors. Copyright 2004. 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. 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