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/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRLA_Public/140423.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, April 23, 2014, Vol. 15, No. 79 Headlines A R G E N T I N A ARGENTINA: To Cut Taxes on Biodiesel Amid EU Anti-Dumping Dispute B R A Z I L OGX PETROLEO: Police Probes Owner for Financial Crimes C A Y M A N I S L A N D S ALM LOAN: Shareholder to Hear Wind-Up Report on May 16 DMG INC: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for May 6 HSINCHU INTERNATIONAL: Member to Hear Wind-Up Report on May 16 HUAAN GENESIS: Shareholder to Hear Wind-Up Report on April 29 HUTCHIN HILL MASTER: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for April 30 HUTCHIN HILL OFFSHORE: Shareholders' Meeting Set for April 30 HUTCHIN HILL VEHICLE: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for April 30 INTREPID CAPITAL: Shareholder to Hear Wind-Up Report on April 28 NOBEL BRAZIL: Shareholder to Receive Wind-Up Report on May 6 PANORAMA MEDIA: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for May 6 P A N A M A PANAMA: IDB OKs $20MM Loan for Rural Electrification Program T R I N I D A D & T O B A G O * TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Workers Upset Over Wage Negotiations Delay - - - - - ================= A R G E N T I N A ================= ARGENTINA: To Cut Taxes on Biodiesel Amid EU Anti-Dumping Dispute ----------------------------------------------------------------- Daniel Cancel at Bloomberg News reports that Argentina will temporarily scale back taxes on biodiesel for domestic use to help the industry as the South American nation battles the European Union over anti-dumping measures. The government will send a bill to Congress ordering the exemption of a 22 percent tax on biodiesel used in thermoelectric plants and a 19 percent tax on biodiesel for gasoline blends until the dispute with the EU is resolved, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said, according to Bloomberg News. The report notes that the EU slapped Argentina with duties on biodiesel imports last year, saying producers have access to raw material at prices that are kept artificially low. Argentina has requested the formation of a panel at the World Trade Organization in order to resolve the dispute and said the nation is being punished for being competitive in a free market, President Fernandez said, the report notes. The report relays that Argentina's biodiesel industry has about 33 processing plants and employs 1,600 people, President Fernandez said. President Fernandez inaugurated a biodiesel plant in Santa Fe province run by Renova SA. Renova is a joint venture between Glencore Xstrata Plc and local producers Vicentin and Molinos Rio de la Plata SA, according to a 2011 Economy Ministry report on the industry, Bloomberg News discloses. Louis Dreyfus Commodities BV, Bunge Ltd and Cargill Inc also operate biodiesel plants in Argentina, according to the Ministry report, Bloomberg News relates. Argentina is the world's largest exporter of soybean oil and derivatives and the third-biggest exporter of soybeans and corn. =========== B R A Z I L =========== OGX PETROLEO: Police Probes Owner for Financial Crimes ------------------------------------------------------ Reuters reports that Brazil's federal police have opened an investigation into former billionaire Eike Batista for financial crimes, including insider trading, manipulation of markets and money laundering, Brazilian media reported. If the police probe leads to criminal charges against Mr. Batista, it would be yet another major blow for a businessman once hailed as Brazil's model entrepreneur and symbol of its economic success, according to Reuters. Mr. Batista's EBX oil, mining and logistics empire, which two years ago was valued at US$60 billion, collapsed last year in a mountain of debt and massive filings for bankruptcy protection, Reuters notes. Brazil's securities commission, CVM, announced that Mr. Batista was under investigation for insider trading as chairman of his now-bankrupt oil-producing company Oleo and Gas Participacoes SA, formerly known as OGX, and its sister company, shipbuilder OSX Brasil SA, Reuters discloses. Mr. Batista, Reuters relays, is now being investigated by the police at the request of federal prosecutors in Rio de Janeiro for financial crimes involving the allegedly illegal sales of shares before his conglomerate fell apart, O Globo newspaper said. The police probe will focus on the sale of shares last year in oil producer OGX before the company informed the market that much of its reserves were not commercially viable, Folha de S. Paulo newspaper said, Reuters relates. The Federal Police would not comment, notes the report. A spokeswoman for Mr. Batista said his EBX group had not been officially notified by federal prosecutors or police and would provide the authorities with explanations in due course, Reuters notes. Mr. Batista, Brazil's richest man for most of the past decade, could face up to 23 years in prison if convicted. Securities watchdog CVM wants to determine whether Mr. Batista withheld information that was unfavorable to some of his businesses while encouraging investors to buy more stock in his companies at a time when he sold shares of OGX and OSX, Reuters says. Among other probes, the regulator will look into whether Batista used his Twitter account to manipulate OGX share prices while hiding the company's problems, Reuters adds. Based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes S.A., now known as Oleo e Gas, is an independent exploration and production company with operations in Latin America. OGX filed for bankruptcy in a business tribunal in Rio de Janeiro on Oct. 30, 2013, case number 0377620-56.2013.8.19.0001. The bankruptcy filing puts $3.6 billion of dollar bonds into default in the largest corporate debt debacle on record in Latin America. The filing by the oil company that transformed Eike Batista into Brazil's richest man followed a 16-month decline that wiped out more than $30 billion of his personal fortune. The filing, which in Brazil is called a judicial recovery, follows months of negotiations to restructure the dollar bonds, in which OGX sought to convert debt to equity and secure as much as $500 million in new funds. OGX said Oct. 29 that the talks concluded without an agreement. The company's cash fell to about $82 million at the end of September, not enough to sustain operations further than December. ========================== C A Y M A N I S L A N D S ========================== ALM LOAN: Shareholder to Hear Wind-Up Report on May 16 ------------------------------------------------------ The shareholder of Alm Loan Funding 2010-2 (P), Ltd will hear on May 16, 2014, at 9:15 a.m., the liquidator's report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: Intertrust SPV (Cayman) Limited 190 Elgin Avenue, George Town Grand Cayman KY1-9005 Cayman Islands c/o Kim Charaman/Jennifer Chailler Telephone: (345) 943-3100 DMG INC: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for May 6 -------------------------------------------------- The shareholders of DMG Inc. will hold their final meeting on May 6, 2014, at 10:00 a.m., to receive the liquidator's report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: Wenge Xiao Fortune Heights, Unit 5209, No.7 Dongsanhuan Middie Road Chaoyang District Beijing PRC Telephone: 8610 8565 3333 Facsimile: 8610 8565 3555 HSINCHU INTERNATIONAL: Member to Hear Wind-Up Report on May 16 -------------------------------------------------------------- The member of Hsinchu International Mortgage Loan 1 Limited will hear on May 16, 2014, at 9:00 a.m., the liquidator's report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: Intertrust SPV (Cayman) Limited 190 Elgin Avenue, George Town Grand Cayman KY1-9005 Cayman Islands c/o Kim Charaman/Jennifer Chailler Telephone: (345) 943-3100 HUAAN GENESIS: Shareholder to Hear Wind-Up Report on April 29 ------------------------------------------------------------- The shareholder of Huaan Genesis China SPC will hear on April 29, 2014, at 10:00 a.m., the liquidator's report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: Tang Yi ICBC Tower, Suite 3808-9, 3 Garden Road, Central Hong Kong HUTCHIN HILL MASTER: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for April 30 ----------------------------------------------------------------- The shareholders of Hutchin Hill Liquid Credit Master Fund Ltd will hold their final meeting on April 30, 2014, at 10:20 a.m., to receive the liquidator's report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: Hutchin Hill Capital Credit Manager, LP c/o Joseph Lanzillotti Hutchin Hill Capital 142 West 57th Street, 15th Floor New York NY 10019 United States of America Telephone: +1 (646) 616-2083 e-mail: joseph.lanzillotti@hutchinhill.com HUTCHIN HILL OFFSHORE: Shareholders' Meeting Set for April 30 ------------------------------------------------------------- The shareholders of Hutchin Hill Liquid Credit Offshore Fund Ltd will hold their final meeting on April 30, 2014, at 10:00 a.m., to receive the liquidator's report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: Hutchin Hill Capital Credit Manager, LP c/o Joseph Lanzillotti Hutchin Hill Capital 142 West 57th Street, 15th Floor New York NY 10019 United States of America Telephone: +1 (646) 616-2083 HUTCHIN HILL VEHICLE: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for April 30 ------------------------------------------------------------------ The shareholders of Hutchin Hill Liquid Credit Trading Vehicle Ltd will hold their final meeting on April 30, 2014, at 10:10 a.m., to receive the liquidator's report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: Hutchin Hill Capital Credit Manager, LP c/o Joseph Lanzillotti Hutchin Hill Capital 142 West 57th Street, 15th Floor New York NY 10019 United States of America Telephone: +1 (646) 616-2083 INTREPID CAPITAL: Shareholder to Hear Wind-Up Report on April 28 ---------------------------------------------------------------- The shareholder of Intrepid Capital Fund (Offshore) Ltd will hear on April 28, 2014, the liquidator's report on the company's wind- up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: Appleby Trust (Cayman) Ltd c/o George Bashforth Telephone: +1 (345) 949 4900 c/o Appleby Trust (Cayman) Ltd., 75 Fort Street PO Box 1350, George Town, Grand Cayman KY1-1108 Cayman Islands NOBEL BRAZIL: Shareholder to Receive Wind-Up Report on May 6 ------------------------------------------------------------ The shareholder of Nobel Brazil Fund SPC will receive on May 6, 2014, at 10:30 a.m., the liquidator's report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: Ogier c/o Jacqueline Haynes Telephone: (345) 815-1759 Facsimile: (345) 949-9877 PANORAMA MEDIA: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for May 6 --------------------------------------------------------- The shareholders of Panorama Media Investments Limited will hold their final meeting on May 6, 2014, at 3:00 p.m., to receive the liquidator's report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: Jie Zhang Room 1202, No. 5 Building, No. 54 Dongsanhuan South Road Chaoyang District Beijing PRC Telephone: 8610 8565 3333 Facsimile: 8610 8565 3555 =========== P A N A M A =========== PANAMA: IDB OKs $20MM Loan for Rural Electrification Program ------------------------------------------------------------ The Inter-American Development (IDB) disclosed approval of a US$20 million loan to Panama to finance a rural electrification program that will promote public and private investment to provide service for more than 10,000 rural households, located mostly in very poor remote areas. The program will also provide access to electricity for 107 schools and 21 health centers, thereby increasing Panama's electricity coverage rate will rise to approximately 81 percent of Panama's rural households by 2018. The general objective of the program is to help improve the quality of life of Panama's rural population by increasing access to sustainable electricity services in the poorest communities. This program will seek to promote public-private efforts by financing incentives to invest in grid-extension projects and off- grid systems in order to provide reliable electricity service to rural communities as well as to improve the Panamanian Government's institutional capacity for the formulation, execution, oversight and evaluation of rural electrification projects. The project includes a system of subsidies for new investments that will motivate private enterprises to invest in rural electrification, through either grid extension or renewable energy projects in isolated areas. Among the eligible renewable energy alternatives are small hydroelectric projects, wind power plants, and solar photovoltaic systems. The IDB has been supporting the Government of Panama's efforts to increase national electricity coverage levels through the Rural Electrification Program (REP) since 2006. During the REP's Phase One from October 2006 until December 2013, IDB loans totaling approximately US$20.8 million funded electricity extension programs in numerous rural communities and off-grid power systems in the indigenous comarcas of Guna Yala and Embera Wounnan. The REP's Phase One extended electricity coverage to more than 12,000 households and numerous schools and hospitals in Panama's poorest rural communities. The US$10 million IDB loan is for a 25-year term, with a 54 month grace period and an interest rate based on LIBOR and US$10 million from the China Co-financing Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean. Local counterpart contribution totals US$2.25 million. This project is framed within the global goals of the Sustainable Energy initiative for all (SE4ALL). It is promoted by a United Nations initiative that the IDB committed to supporting, an initiative that seeks universal access to electricity by 2030. =============================== T R I N I D A D & T O B A G O =============================== * TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Workers Upset Over Wage Negotiations Delay --------------------------------------------------------------- Sasha Harrinanan at Trinidad & Tobago Newsday reports that daily- paid staff at the Port of Port-of-Spain returned to work more than 24 hours after they "refused to accept work" in protest over a six percent wage increase offer, and what they claimed were unsafe working conditions. Speaking with the news agency, a senior member of the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union (SWWTU), who did not want his identify revealed, said "You really can't have industrial action taking place when you are negotiating in good faith. The workers are still dealing with health and safety issues, but all of them are now back on the job." "We work with defective equipment, and we endanger ourselves on a daily basis, just so we could get the work done," a port worker told Newsday. Workers said basic safety equipment such as harnesses were in short supply at the port and certain areas of the facility, such as the shipping shore gantry is in a dilapidated condition, the report notes. In a statement, Port Operations Consultant, Narine Singh, said "Management is deploying the necessary resources to reduce the inconvenience caused by the disruptions," the report relates. With regards to those customers who may have been affected by the Port's inability to deliver their cargo, the necessary storage charge adjustments, will be made," Consultant Singh said, the report adds. Meanwhile, SWWTU President General, Michael Annisette, said although a meeting between the union and the Port Authority (PATT) ended, port management did not budge from its six percent offer, the report discloses. The union has asked for a 35 percent wage increase. *********** Monday's edition of the TCR-LA delivers a list of indicative prices for bond issues that reportedly trade well below par. Prices are obtained by TCR-LA editors from a variety of outside sources during the prior week we think are reliable. Those sources may not, however, be complete or accurate. The Monday Bond Pricing table is compiled on the Friday prior to publication. Prices reported are not intended to reflect actual trades. Prices for actual trades are probably different. Our objective is to share information, not make markets in publicly traded securities. Nothing in the TCR-LA constitutes an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security of any kind. It is likely that some entity affiliated with a TCR-LA editor holds some position in the issuers' public debt and equity securities about which we report. Tuesday's edition of the TCR-LA features a list of companies with insolvent balance sheets obtained by our editors based on the latest balance sheets publicly available a day prior to publication. At first glance, this list may look like the definitive compilation of stocks that are ideal to sell short. Don't be fooled. Assets, for example, reported at historical cost net of depreciation may understate the true value of a firm's assets. A company may establish reserves on its balance sheet for liabilities that may never materialize. The prices at which equity securities trade in public market are determined by more than a balance sheet solvency test. Submissions about insolvency-related conferences are encouraged. Send announcements to conferences@bankrupt.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., Washington, D.C., USA, Marites O. Claro, Joy A. Agravante, Rousel Elaine T. Fernandez, Valerie U. Pascual, Julie Anne L. Toledo, and Peter A. Chapman, Editors. Copyright 2014. 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 US$775 per half-year, delivered via e-mail. Additional e-mail subscriptions for members of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription or balance thereof are US$25 each. For subscription information, contact Peter A. Chapman at 215-945-7000 or Nina Novak at 202-241-8200. * * * End of Transmission * * *