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

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

          Wednesday, March 10, 2021, Vol. 22, No. 44

                           Headlines



A R G E N T I N A

TARJETA NARANJA: Fitch Lowers LongTerm IDRs to 'CCC-'


C O S T A   R I C A

BANCO NACIONAL: Moody's Completes Review, Retains B2 Rating


D O M I N I C A N   R E P U B L I C

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Financial Sector Boasts US$21.7BB in Loans
[*] DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Has US$5.8 Billion for 4 Projects


P E R U

GRUPO EMBOTELLADOR ATIC: S&P Hikes ICR to 'B+' on Debt Refinancing
INRETAIL CONSUMER: S&P Assigns BB+ LongTerm ICR, Outlook Stable


P U E R T O   R I C O

LRJ GLOBAL: Court Conditionally Approves Disclosure Statement


T R I N I D A D   A N D   T O B A G O

ARCELORMITTAL: Makes Third Attempt to Sell Assets
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: $27BB in Suspicious Transactions Tagged for 2020


V E N E Z U E L A

VENEZUELA: $1-Billion Maduro Gold Deal Exposed

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A R G E N T I N A
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TARJETA NARANJA: Fitch Lowers LongTerm IDRs to 'CCC-'
-----------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Tarjeta Naranja, S.A.'s (TN) Foreign
and Local Currency Long-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) to 'CCC-'
from 'CCC' and its senior unsecured debt to 'CCC-'/'RR4' from
'CCC'/'RR4' and placed the ratings on Rating Watch Negative (RWN).

The downgrade reflects the increased risks the company faces to
service its internationally issued debt following the extension of
the capital controls announced last week by the Central Bank of
Argentina (BCRA). On Feb. 25, 2021, the BCRA extended the
restriction of only selling Argentine issuers' foreign currency for
up to 40% of any upcoming maturing principal until Dec. 31, 2021.
Previously, the expiration was on March 31, 2021.

The RWN reflects near-term USD funding risks, potentially
undermining TN's ability to service its debt in accordance with the
debt facilities' terms. Fitch expects to resolve the RWN in the
coming weeks once the agency has more clarity about how the company
will obtain the USD needed to make the principal payment. If TN
makes substantial progress toward obtaining the US dollars needed
to fund its near-term principal payments, the ratings will likely
be affirmed and removed from RWN. Alternatively, absent such
progress the ratings will likely be downgraded to 'CC'.

TN has to amortize principal for ARS1,282 million on April 12,
2021. While the notes are denominated in ARS, they have to be
settled in USD according to the applicable exchange rate calculated
three business days before scheduled payment dates. TN plans to
meet this obligation with the purchase of 40% of the outstanding
principal in USD from the Central Bank and the issuance of a local
bond in USD to refinance the remaining principal. The total
outstanding principal at an estimated exchange rate of ARS92.9/USD
upon maturity is around USD13.8m. Therefore, the expected issuance
amount is about USD8.28m (equivalent to ARS769.2m), which is small.
As of December 2020, TN had total assets of ARS100.1 billion,
meaning that the maturing principal represents only 1.3% of total
assets. At the same date, the company held ARS2.7 billion in cash,
2.1x the maturing amount.

The amount of USD needed is small, and the company is a frequent
issuer in the local market (as of December 2020, TN had ARS10.1
billion in bonds outstanding and ARS6.6 billion in bank financing)
with a good reputation and frequent access to both institutional
investors and private banking investors. However, the company is in
the process of filing an update of its debt issuance program, so
the bond will likely be placed close to the maturity date. In
addition, while Fitch believes that the tightening of capital
controls is unlikely over the next two months, this cannot be
completely ruled out.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

IDRS AND SENIOR DEBT

TN's IDRs are predominantly influenced by Argentina's volatile
operating environment and low sovereign ratings (CCC). TN's funding
and liquidity profile, which is affected by the capital controls in
Argentina, also highly influences the entity's ratings.

As a non-bank financial institution with short-term assets, TN's
funding profile relies primarily on accounts payable and local
issuances. Almost 100% of its liabilities were unsecured at Dec.
31, 2020. No-cost accounts payable to merchants (for an average
tenor of 45 days) represented 71% of total liabilities, while local
and international issues of unsecured debt accounted for 13.2% and
bank financing for 8.6%. TN's liquidity is strengthened by the
predictable churn of its short-term loan assets (with an average
duration of approximately four months). While the outstanding
amount of international debt issuances is small (around 3.3% of
total liabilities) and the company has the liquidity in ARS, the
extension of the capital controls adds uncertainty to its capacity
to obtain USD to make the payment.

The ratings also consider TN's higher risk appetite relative to
bank peers with a moderate importance. The entity's business
concentration in credit cards targeting low- and middle-income
segments is a constraint. However, in Fitch's view, TN's robust
niche franchise as the largest credit card issuer in Argentina and
one of the top credit card issuers in the region, as well as its
good revenue generation capacity and track record of adequate asset
quality for its business model and segments served, somewhat
mitigates this constraint. Nevertheless, given its business focus,
the company's portfolio is highly sensitive to the evolution of the
economic environment.

The rating of TN's senior unsecured debt is at the same level as
the company's Long-Term, Local Currency IDR as the likelihood of
the notes' default is the same as that of TN. The recovery rating
of 'RR4' reflects the average expected recovery in case of
liquidation.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

IDRS

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative
rating action/downgrade:

-- The RWN will be resolved once Ftich has more clarity about how
    the company will obtain the USD needed to make the principal
    payment. If Fitch does not receive confirmation of this by the
    end of March 2021, the ratings will likely be downgraded to
    'CC' to reflect the increased risk of default;

-- TN's IDRs would be pressured by a downgrade of Argentina's
    sovereign rating or a deterioration in the local operating
    environment beyond current expectations that leads to a
    significant deterioration in its financial profile;

-- Any policy announcements that would be detrimental to the
    company's ability to service its obligations, including a
    tightening of capital controls to the extent that they
    restrict debt payments, would be negative for
    creditworthiness.

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to positive
rating action/upgrade:

-- The RWN will be removed and the ratings affirmed if the
    company obtains the USD needed for its payment before the end
    of March 2021;

-- The IDRs would benefit from an elimination of capital controls
    in Argentina or the amortization of the outstanding amount of
    debt issued internationally;

-- The IDRs could also benefit from an upgrade of Argentina's
    sovereign rating, in the absence of capital controls.

SENIOR DEBT

Ratings on senior debt are primarily sensitive to any change in
TN's IDRs.

BEST/WORST CASE RATING SCENARIO

International scale credit ratings of Financial Institutions and
Covered Bond issuers have a best-case rating upgrade scenario
(defined as the 99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in
a positive direction) of three notches over a three-year rating
horizon; and a worst-case rating downgrade scenario (defined as the
99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a negative
direction) of four notches over three years. The complete span of
best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings for all rating
categories ranges from 'AAA' to 'D'. Best- and worst-case scenario
credit ratings are based on historical performance.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of
ESG credit relevance is a score of '3'. This means ESG issues are
credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity,
either due to their nature or the way in which they are being
managed by the entity.




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C O S T A   R I C A
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BANCO NACIONAL: Moody's Completes Review, Retains B2 Rating
-----------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has completed a periodic review of the
ratings of Banco Nacional de Costa Rica and other ratings that are
associated with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted
through a portfolio review discussion held on March 1, 2021 in
which Moody's reassessed the appropriateness of the ratings in the
context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent
developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating
profile to similarly rated peers. The review did not involve a
rating committee. Since January 1, 2019, Moody's practice has been
to issue a press release following each periodic review to announce
its completion.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is
not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is
likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status
cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted
by this announcement.

Key rating considerations

Banco Nacional de Costa Rica's B2 long-term local-currency deposit
and foreign currency senior debt ratings are in line with Costa
Rica's government bond rating and are at par with its b2 baseline
credit assessment. The supported ratings reflect Moody's assumption
of full government support, based on an explicit support set in
Costa Rica's Banking Law, as well as the bank's public policy
mandate and the sizeable deposit base as the country's largest
bank.

Banco Nacional's b2 BCA incorporates a modest profitability and
capitalization, amid rising asset risks. The latter are fueled by
slower-than-historical economic growth in Costa Rica and high
unemployment, as well as the negative implications from the
coronavirus pandemic to business activity. In addition, Banco
Nacional's asset risk reflects some exposure to foreign-currency
loans granted to borrowers with revenues in local-currency;
although the bank has been more conservative when originating loans
for those clients. Low profitability reflects efficiency metrics
larger that of local peers and narrowing net interest margins,
which in turn limits internal capital generation. These credit
challenges are in part offset by robust liquidity and good access
to low-cost retail deposits, which helps limit refinancing and
repricing risks.

The principal methodology used for this review was Banks
Methodology published in November 2019.




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D O M I N I C A N   R E P U B L I C
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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Financial Sector Boasts US$21.7BB in Loans
--------------------------------------------------------------
Dominican Today reports that Dominican Republic's financial sector
has been resilient to the effects of the pandemic, as evidenced by
the health of the loan portfolio and the capitalization, liquidity
and solvency indicators.

The trend is reflected in the quarterly financial system
performance report as of December 31, 2020, released by the Banks
Superintendence (SB), according to Dominican Today.

The document highlights that the system's credit portfolio ended
the year with a 3.9% year-on-year growth, reaching RD$1.26 trillion
(US$21.7 billion), or 28% of GDP, the report says.

                  About Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean nation that shares the island
of Hispaniola with Haiti to the west. Capital city Santo Domingo
has Spanish landmarks like the Gothic Catedral Primada de America
dating back 5 centuries in its Zona Colonial district. Luis Rodolfo
Abinader Corona is the current president of the nation.

The Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America reported in April 2019
that the Dominican Today related that Juan Del Rosario of the UASD
Economic Faculty cited a current economic slowdown for the
Dominican Republic and cautioned that if the trend continues,
growth would reach only 4% by 2023. Mr. Del Rosario said that if
that happens, "we'll face difficulties in meeting international
commitments."

An ongoing concern in the Dominican Republic is the inability of
participants in the electricity sector to establish financial
viability for the system.

Fitch Ratings on Jan. 18, assigned a 'BB-' rating to Dominican
Republic's USD1.5 billion 5.3% notes due Jan. 21, 2041.
Concurrently, the Dominican Republic reopened its 2030 4.5% notes
for an additional USD1.0 billion, which Fitch rates 'BB-', raising
the total outstanding amount of the 2030 notes to USD2.0 billion.

Standard & Poor's, on December 4, 2020, affirmed its 'BB-'
long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on
the Dominican Republic. The outlook remains negative. S&P also
affirmed its 'B' short-term sovereign credit ratings. The negative
outlook reflects S&P's view that it could lower the ratings on the
Dominican Republic over the next six to 18 months, given the severe
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sovereign's already
vulnerable fiscal and external profiles, as well as the potential
for a weaker-than-expected economic recovery.

Moody's credit rating for Dominican Republic was last set at Ba3
with stable outlook (July 2017). Fitch's credit rating for
Dominican Republic was last reported at BB- with negative outlook
(May 8, 2020).


[*] DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Has US$5.8 Billion for 4 Projects
---------------------------------------------------------
Dominican Today reports that Dominican authorities have in the
pipeline four projects under public-private alliance valued at
US$5.8 billion.

The Public-Private Partnerships Directorate (DGAPP) said that among
the infrastructures to be carried out through those programs figure
the Pedernales tourism development project, the reconstruction of
Manzanillo Port and the construction of parking buildings both in
Santiago as in Santo Domingo (ParqueaTRD), according to Dominican
Today.

The agency said that in Pedernales the project will be developed in
four phases, over 10 years, the report relays.  "In the first
stage, it contemplates the construction of 3,000 rooms, an
international airport and the development of access routes and
services. This includes an initial investment of US$1.0 billion,"
the report relates

The Manzanillo Port rebuild will also cost US$1.0 billion; the
construction of the Ambar Highway (Puerto-Plata) will cost US$400
million and ParqueaTRD) will cost US$400 million, the report
discloses.

"In addition to these projects, others are being structured, but
the details are not yet ready, among these is the Monorail that
goes to Boca Chica, this investment has not yet been defined," the
report says.

It said the cities and provinces benefited from the Digapps will be
Manzanillo-Montecristi, Pedernales, Santiago-Puerto Plata,
Santiago-Santo Domingo and Boca Chica, the report adds.

                    About Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean nation that shares the island
of Hispaniola with Haiti to the west. Capital city Santo Domingo
has Spanish landmarks like the Gothic Catedral Primada de America
dating back 5 centuries in its Zona Colonial district. Luis Rodolfo
Abinader Corona is the current president of the nation.

The Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America reported in April 2019
that the Dominican Today related that Juan Del Rosario of the UASD
Economic Faculty cited a current economic slowdown for the
Dominican Republic and cautioned that if the trend continues,
growth would reach only 4% by 2023. Mr. Del Rosario said that if
that happens, "we'll face difficulties in meeting international
commitments."

An ongoing concern in the Dominican Republic is the inability of
participants in the electricity sector to establish financial
viability for the system.

Fitch Ratings on Jan. 18, assigned a 'BB-' rating to Dominican
Republic's USD1.5 billion 5.3% notes due Jan. 21, 2041.
Concurrently, the Dominican Republic reopened its 2030 4.5% notes
for an additional USD1.0 billion, which Fitch rates 'BB-', raising
the total outstanding amount of the 2030 notes to USD2.0 billion.

Standard & Poor's, on December 4, 2020, affirmed its 'BB-'
long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on
the Dominican Republic. The outlook remains negative. S&P also
affirmed its 'B' short-term sovereign credit ratings. The negative
outlook reflects S&P's view that it could lower the ratings on the
Dominican Republic over the next six to 18 months, given the severe
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sovereign's already
vulnerable fiscal and external profiles, as well as the potential
for a weaker-than-expected economic recovery.

Moody's credit rating for Dominican Republic was last set at Ba3
with stable outlook (July 2017). Fitch's credit rating for
Dominican Republic was last reported at BB- with negative outlook
(May 8, 2020).




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P E R U
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GRUPO EMBOTELLADOR ATIC: S&P Hikes ICR to 'B+' on Debt Refinancing
------------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings, on March 5, 2021, raised its issuer credit
rating on Peruvian beverage company, Grupo Embotellador Atic, S.A.
(Atic) to 'B+' from 'B' and withdrew the issue-level rating on its
2022 notes given their full redemption.

Atic has successfully refinanced its outstanding $357 million
senior unsecured notes due May 2022 with a mix of new local
currency bank loans equivalent to $294 million, as well as $67
million of cash from its balance sheet to cover the remaining
amount and accrued interest. In 2019 and 2020, the company
repurchased about $88.5 million of the original $450 million notes
with excess cash from its operations.

In S&P's view, this pro-active refinancing improves the company's
credit quality because it diminishes its refinancing risk by
extending its debt maturity profile, with comfortable debt
amortizations under the new debt structure. Moreover, the new bank
loans have attractive funding costs and will reduce Atic's exposure
to the dollar because the loans are in domestic currencies or are
pegged to the dollar in the various countries where the company
operates.

In 2020, like many beverage companies, Atic faced aggressive
competition. In addition, consumption decreased in its key markets,
triggered by the pandemic and recession. Therefore, according to
our estimates, Atic's 2020 sales were mid- to high-single
percentages lower than in 2019. However, the company's ongoing
strategic initiatives, which it started a few years ago, have begun
paying off, strengthening profitability. This is indicated by the
growth of its EBITDA margin to about 19% in 2020 from 14.4% in 2019
and 11.7% in 2018.

The initiatives include price increases to compensate for higher
sweetened beverage taxes, reformulating certain product categories
to reduce sugar content, improved procurement of raw materials,
efficiencies in logistics, and a consistent reduction in overhead
expenses, which were further supported by lower raw material prices
in 2020. The latter, coupled with limited capital expenditure
(capex) needs of $30 million - $35 million and no dividend
distribution, allowed the company to reduce its debt by about $55
million in 2020 and $45 million in 2019, including $88.9 million
related to the senior unsecured notes in the past two years. In
line with S&P's previous expectation and because of the improved
operating performance and lower debt, Atic posted stronger credit
metrics, including gross debt to EBITDA of about 2.2x last year,
down from 2.6x in 2019 and 4.7x in 2018.

S&P said, "We expect the company to post steady operating and
financial performance in 2021 amid the likely gradual recovery in
revenue, but which will be still below pre-pandemic levels. We also
expect EBITDA margin to remain above 18% despite our expectation of
higher raw material prices. As a result, we expect Atic to generate
consistent operating cash flows in the $130 million - $140 million
range, and maintain its disciplined financial policies towards
capex, dividend payments, and providing funding to its sister
company, Callpa. In our view, this should allow Atic to post gross
debt to EBITDA of about 2.0x by the end of 2021, while maintaining
an adequate liquidity position."


INRETAIL CONSUMER: S&P Assigns BB+ LongTerm ICR, Outlook Stable
---------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings, on March 8, 2021, assigned its 'BB+' long-term
issuer credit rating to InRetail Consumer (IC) and 'BB+'
issue-level rating to its proposed $750 million secured notes.
Moreover, S&P assigned a 'bbb-' stand-alone credit profile (SACP)
to IC.

The stable outlook on IC reflects S&P's expectation that it will
successfully integrate Makro's assets into its food retail
business, while it will continue expanding its pharmacy business.

IC is the leading food retail and pharmacy platform operator in
Peru, with strong market shares and a nationwide presence. The
company also has operations in Bolivia and Ecuador, which together
represent slightly less than 7% of total revenue. S&P said, "We
believe IC to have a solid competitive advantage in the Peruvian
market, as seen in its successful growth strategy and resilient
non-discretionary business lines, with consistent organic growth
and integration of acquisitions. We believe that the multi-format
product offering strategy and complementary brands allow IC to
reach a diversified client base, ranging from professional clients
to the final consumer. In recent years, IC was able to take market
share from its closest competitors, and we consider it's poised to
maintain consistent growth given the retail industry's currently
limited scale in the country. Moreover, e-commerce operations in
Peru are currently small in scale, but we expect IC to continue
using its leading position to accelerate the development of its
omnichannel strategy to raise its market share in upcoming years.
In our view, its competitive advantage is also reflected in IC's
relatively high operating efficiency, as seen in its
above-industry-average EBITDA margins of about 12%, because it
benefits from bargaining power with suppliers and its vertical
integration through a diversified store/brand portfolio. However,
our assessment also incorporates IC's overwhelming bulk of
operations in a single country, which limits its scale of operation
given the small size of the Peruvian market."

S&P said, "We estimate IC's credit metrics to gradually improve in
the next two years after leverage peaked last year following
Makro's acquisition. At the end 2020, IC had an adjusted net debt
to EBITDA near 3.3x, incorporating the bridge facility of $375
million the company took out on Dec. 23, 2020, to fund the
acquisition. Without this facility, we estimate IC's net debt to
EBITDA was close to 2.5x in 2020. We estimate a contraction in
Peru's GDP of 13.5% in 2020 and private consumption of 50%-60% in
the second quarter of the year. However, the company benefited from
a surge in demand for groceries, increasing its same-store sales by
almost 18% in the food retail segment, while a resilient
performance in the pharma segment posted revenue growth of about
5%. This illustrates IC's resilient business model given its focus
on essential retail business lines. We estimate that IC's revenue
will grow 10%-12% in 2021, largely due to Makro's integration,
which should add about PEN1.7 billion - PEN1.8 billion in revenue
for the full year. For 2022, we expect that the company's planned
net store openings in 2021 will result in sales growth of 5%-8%.

"We also expect the company's EBITDA margins to remain stable at
11%-12% in both years, including potential synergies at Makro's
level, stemming from better bargaining power and commercial terms
with suppliers, overhead savings, and use of IC's logistics and IT
platforms.

"We estimate that IC's operating cash flow (OCF) to debt will be
20%-25% this year, similar to levels in 2019 and 2020 because the
company has limited working capital needs. FOCF to debt and
discretionary cash flow (DCF) to debt would decrease in 2021 to
8%-10% and 0%-5%, respectively, because of higher capex and
dividends. Nevertheless, both ratio will improve in 2022 thanks to
lower cash outflows and mid-single-digit growth in revenue and
FOCF. The company's capex-light business model has proven to be
flexible during economic downturns, such as in 2020, while
maintenance capex remains in the PEN100 million - PEN120 million
range annually. Moreover, although IC doesn't have a defined
dividend payout policy, its parent company, InRetail Peru Corp.
(IPC), to which IC upstreams dividends, pays a minimum of 10% of
net income as dividends to its shareholders. Therefore, we consider
that IC could decrease dividend distributions to such a level.  

"IPC fully owns IC, while Intercorp Retail Inc. (IR) controls IPC
through an equity stake of 58%. We consider IR as the ultimate
parent company for our group analysis. IR engages in various
consumer-related activities through its subsidiaries, operating
several retail chains and brands, including pharmacies, food
retail, home improvement, department stores, consumer credit, and
the real estate (InRetail Shopping Malls [ISM; BB/Stable/--]).
After a strong 2019, the group's financial performance slipped
during the pandemic given the discretionary nature of other
businesses it owns, but its food retail and pharmacy units have
been robust and compensated for the weaker credit metrics. For
2021, we expect the essential retail segment to post healthy
performance, while discretionary retail and real estate operations
to improve gradually. Therefore, we estimate the group's leverage
metrics to decrease, after they reached a peak at the end of 2020
because of the debt-financed acquisition of Makro and the
pandemic-fueled recession.

"We forecast that Peru's GDP will grow close to 10% in 2021, after
an estimated contraction of close to 13.5% in 2020. The Peruvian
economy has been among the hardest hit last year by the pandemic's
fallout due to a temporary halt in mining operations and key
fishing season, along with the lengthy and stringent lockdowns.
However, following the second quarter's sharp dip, the
month-over-month recovery in private consumption and GDP has been
strong, almost reaching the pre-pandemic levels by December 2020.
For 2021, we estimate a continued recovery in economic activity and
consumption, at a faster pace than of other Latin American
countries. Nonetheless, a consistent improvement in the group's
credit profile may not occur in 2021, given the risk of the
continuation of lockdowns, disrupting discretionary retail until
the vaccine is widely available in Peru, which may happen in the
second half of 2021. General elections could also delay public
investment and slow economic activity."




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LRJ GLOBAL: Court Conditionally Approves Disclosure Statement
-------------------------------------------------------------
Judge Edgar A. Godoy has conditionally approved the Disclosure
Statement of LRJ Global Quality Concrete Inc.

Acceptances or rejections of the Plan may be filed in writing by
the holders of all claims on/or before 14 days prior to the date of
the hearing on confirmation of the Plan.

Any objection to the final approval of the Disclosure Statement
and/or the confirmation of the Plan shall be filed on/or before 14
days prior to the date of the hearing on confirmation of the Plan.

The hearing on final approval of the disclosure statement and the
confirmation of the plan and of such objections scheduled for May
27, 2021, at 1:30 p.m. is hereby rescheduled for May 13, 2021, at
1:30 P.M. via Microsoft Teams.

                     About LRJ Global Quality

LRJ Global Quality Concrete, Inc., owns the 3,930.39-sq/mts Light
Industrial real property located at Almacigo Bajo Ward, State Road
371, Km L8, Yauco, Puerto Rico, with a steel commercial building.

LRJ Global Quality Concrete, Inc., filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy
petition (Bankr. D.P.R. Case No. 19-06780) on Nov. 19, 2019,
disclosing under $1 million in both assets and liabilities.  The
Debtor is represented by Nydia Gonzalez, Esq., at the Law Office of
Santiago & Gonzalez Law, LLC.




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T R I N I D A D   A N D   T O B A G O
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ARCELORMITTAL: Makes Third Attempt to Sell Assets
-------------------------------------------------
Trinidad Express reports that Christopher Kelshall, the liquidator
of the ArcelorMittal company on the Point Lisas Industrial Estate,
is making a third attempt to sell the iron and steel-manufacturing
assets, which were mothballed in March 2016.

T&T's largest non-energy, manufacturing exporter, Luxemburg-based
ArcelorMittal decided to close its operations at Point Lisas on
March 11 2016, throwing its direct workforce of 644 into
unemployment, causing the National Gas Company, WASA, PLIPDECO and
T&TEC to forego hundreds of million in fees and tariffs and leading
to almost US$800 million in estimated export earnings lost over
three years, according to four Central Bank economists, the report
notes.

The iron and steel facility, which was acquired by current
ArcelorMittal chairman and CEO, Lakshmi Mittal, in 1994 for US$70
million, cost T&T over US$1 billion in investment dollars to
commission and operate between 1980 and 1985, according to former
finance minister, Wendell Mottley, in his book Trinidad and Tobago
Industrial Policy 1959 to 2008, according to Trinidad Express.

Six local and international companies responded to Kelshall's third
request for expressions of interest in the assets of the iron and
steel facility, including the Luxemburg-based owner of the assets,
ArcelorMittal, and Nu-Iron, the Point Lisas-based subsidiary of the
US steel giant Nucor Corporation, the report relays.

Neither Arcelor nor Nu-Iron eventually submitted bids, sources
close to the process told Express Business.

The report discloses that the liquidator has received, and is
considering, three bids, including one from Aeternus Steel Company,
a local company incorporated in March 2019.  A joint venture of
Aeternus Steel and the Dubai-based Cassia Group, was named the
preferred bidder in the 2019 sales process, which ended without any
company being selected, the report relays.

Asked to provide an update of the liquidation and pension
processes, Kelshall said in an email: "I am in the process of
evaluating bids received from several local and overseas bidders
for the plant, to determine a preferred bidder. The process is at
an advanced stage and delicate at this time. I expect a
determination to be made within the next month," the report
relays.

Questioned about the sale of the assets, Steel Workers Union
president, Timothy Bailey said the union welcomed the possibility
as its entire membership from the steel industry were deprived of
their separation benefits, the report discloses.

"We have seen what has happened to the former workers and are
supportive of any initiative that allows the opportunity for
employment. We believe that considering our economic situation
currently as a country. The need for stimulating the economy with
new and sustainable investment where sustainable employment coupled
with the possible availability of foreign exchange should be taken
in consideration by the Government and liquidator. This should be
the deal breaker when any decision is made on choosing a entity,"
the report quoted Mr. Bailey as saying.

Given the price of electricity and issues over the availability of
natural gas, the reopening is likely to be of ArcelorMittal’s two
Direct Reduce Iron (DRI) plants only, the report relays.

A Point Lisas source said a successful reopening of the DRI
facility requires clarity on the supply of natural gas, a
competitive electricity rate and the expeditious grant of the
Foreign Investor's Licence, the report notes.  The issue of the
Foreign Investor’s Licence has been promoted to significance
because of the perception that the Ministry of Finance took too
long to consider the licence for the preferred bidder of the 2019
attempt, the report discloses.

                            Forex Earnings

A Point Lisas source said a successful reopening of the DRI
facility requires clarity on the supply of natural gas, clarity on
the price of natural gas, a competitive electricity rate and the
expeditious grant of the Foreign Investor's Licence, the report
relays.  The issue of the Foreign Investor’s Licence has been
promoted to significance because of the perception that the
Ministry of Finance took too long to consider the licence for the
preferred bidder of the 2019 attempt, the report notes.

In a January 2020 working paper, entitled 'Impact of the closure of
a large foreign direct investment: The case of ArcelorMittal in
T&T,' four Central Bank economists estimated that the potential
annual export earnings foregone by the domestic economy amounted to
US$259.2 million over the three years 2016, 2017 and 2018, the
report discloses.

The export earnings contribution of the DRI plant alone would have
been US$146.3 million, according to the Central Bank economists,
Ashley, Lauren Sonnylal, Kester Thompson and Reshma Mahabir, the
report relates.

The economists also projected that if ArcelorMittal remained in
operation, non-energy export earnings would have increased,
resulting in a smaller current account deficit of US$748.2 million
in 2016 compared to US$979.5 million, the report relays.

"The current account surplus would have further improved in 2017
and 2018 to US$1,495.2 million and US$2,260.5 million compared to
US$1,236.1 million and US$1,190.7 million, respectively," stated
the Central Bank economists, the report says.

They counter-balanced the positive impact on T&T's export earnings
by noting that "improvements to the current account from higher
export earnings may have been offset by the repayment of
ArcelorMittal debt to external parties," the report adds.

As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Europe in May 2020,
Moody's Investors Service downgraded ArcelorMittal's senior
unsecured ratings to Ba1 from Baa3. Concurrently, Moody's has
assigned a Ba1 corporate family rating and a Ba1-PD probability of
default rating to ArcelorMittal.


TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: $27BB in Suspicious Transactions Tagged for 2020
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Trinidad Express reports that suspicious financial transactions
totalling $27 billion were reported to the Financial Intelligence
Unit (FIUTT)in the financial year ending September 2020.

Delivering a statement in the House of Representatives on the
annual report of the FIUTT for the year October 2019 to September
2020, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said during the reporting period
"of Trinidad and Tobago and for the first time, the FIUTT received
a total of 1,831 Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs)/Suspicious
Activity Reports (SARs), the most it has received throughout its
ten-year existence," according to Trinidad Express.  This
represented an 80 per cent increase from the previous reporting
period, he added.

"Suspected tax evasion ranked the highest among the five most
common reasons for the submission of STRs/SARs to the FIUTT. In
this reporting period, the most common suspected criminal conduct
were tax evasion (539); money laundering (530); suspicious
financial activity (401); fraud (205) and drug trafficking (92).
These five suspected crimes accounted for 97 per cent of the total
number of STRs/SARs submitted and 99.89 per cent of the total
monetary value of all STRs/SARs," Imbert stated, the report notes.

With respect to the financing of terrorism, the FIUTT received 12
STRs/SARs on suspected financing of terrorism compared to 97 in the
previous reporting period, the Minister said, the report relays.

He added that this represented an 88 per cent decrease of Financing
of Terrorism-related STRs/SARs and may be attributable to the
apparent collapse of the Islamic State (ISIS) of Iraq and Syria,
the report discloses.

He said during the reporting period, the FIUTT noted a 141 per cent
increase in STRs/SARs submissions from financial institutions, and
an 80 per cent increase in the submission from listed businesses,
in comparison to the previous year, the report relays.   Imbert
said the total monetary value of the 1,831 STRs/SARs received in
the reporting period amounted to approximately $27 billion, the
report notes.

                        Money Laundering

Imbert also said the demonetisation exercise, which involved the
replacement of cotton-based $100 notes with polymer notes, resulted
in a "significant increase" in the submissions of STRs/SARs by
reporting entities, with 750 received, the report relays.

He said of the total of 1,831 STRs/SARs received, 1,517 were
completed transactions while 314 were attempted transactions, the
report notes.

"The number of suspicious transactions stopped by reporting
entities therefore rose to 314 in 2020, from 86 in 2019. There was
also a substantial increase in the monetary value of the attempted
suspicious transactions when compared with 2019," he added.

Imbert pointed out that during October 2019 to September 30, 2020,
the FIUTT adjusted its supervisory activities due to the challenges
of Covid-19, the report relays.

He pointed out that the national efforts to reduce the potential
impact of the pandemic led to the temporary closure of business in
high risk sectors such as private members’ clubs, motor vehicle
sales and real estate during the period under review, the report
notes.

Imbert said supervisory and monitoring activities continued with
the necessary adjustments, notwithstanding the challenges faced as
a result of the global pandemic, the report relays.

He said the FIUTT received 184 requests on 598 subjects from law
enforcement authorities, with cash seizures relating to money
laundering being the highest suspected criminal conduct of the
requests received and representing one-third of the number of
requests, the report notes.

This was a 135 per cent increase, from the 26 cash seizure requests
received in the previous period, the report adds.




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

VENEZUELA: $1-Billion Maduro Gold Deal Exposed
----------------------------------------------
Carlos Camacho at The Latin American Herald reports that an
intricate scheme to turn $1 billion in Venezuelan gold reserves
into cash for the Maduro regime in 2020 was exposed by the interim
government of National Assembly President Juan Guaido.  On the same
day, US President Joseph R. Biden Jr. decreed "a continuation of
the national emergency with respect to Venezuela," which
essentially vows to extend for another year the Executive Orders
issued by Barack Obama and Donald Trump since 2015, according to
The Latin American Herald.

The most recent developments took place only hours after the US
Secretary of State had a conference call with Guaido, whom he
referred to as the "Venezuelan interim President," the report
notes

The White House posted the text of the continuation. "On March 8,
2015, the President (Obama) issued Executive Order 13692, declaring
a national emergency with respect to the situation in Venezuela,
including the Government of Venezuela's erosion of human rights
guarantees, persecution of political opponents, curtailment of
press freedoms, use of violence and human rights violations and
abuses in response to anti government protests, and arbitrary
arrest and detention of anti government dissidents, as well as the
exacerbating presence of significant government corruption," the
report relays.

The President also extended several executive orders to this
national emergency issued from 2017 to 2019 by former President
Trump, the report discloses.

The emergency needs to continue, Biden’s decree says, as "the
circumstances described in Executive Order 13692, and subsequent
Executive Orders issued with respect to Venezuela, have not
improved, and they continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary
threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United
States.  Therefore . . . I am continuing for 1 year the national
emergency," the report says.

                     Sanctions AND Gold Deal

Guaido's foreign minister, Julio Borges, denounced from Washington
the scheme the Nicolas Maduro regime has been using to turn gold,
from the international reserves with the also US-sanctions
Venezuelan Central Bank, into cash, by flying it in Russian jets to
Mali for refining, the report discloses.  Mali being one of
Africa's biggest oil producers, such facilities are common there,
the report relays. The refined precious metal ended up in the
United Arab Emirates through a private company Borges identified as
"Noor Capital," a financial firm, the report notes.

The scheme netted Maduro $1 billion in 2020 alone and the regime
was paid in US dollars and cash Euros, Borges said, the report
discloses.  The regime admitted to withdrawing 19 tons of gold from
the BCV reserves in 2020, leaving it with only 86 gold tons in
reserve, the lowest level since the 1970s, the report says.

"The bulk of the gold sold comes from the reserves," Borges said in
a social-media posting, adding the UAE is the nucleus of the whole
operation, the report relays.

The UAE firm is no stranger to Venezuelan gold, Reuters reported:
In January 2019, Noor said it had acquired about three tons of gold
from Venezuela, the report discloses.  The Russian jets were
chartered from Eurofei, a firm that has flown for Vladimir Putin,
Borges added.

The US sanctioned dealings in Venezuelan gold in 2018-2019 are part
of the comprehensive scheme laid out by Trump, which also targeted
the national oil company as well as Maduro, his wife, their
children, their spouses and several hundred present and former
regime officials, the report notes.  Sanctions range from a $15
million bounty to merely having a US visa suspended, the report
relays.

                        Venezuela

Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a
country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a
continental landmass and a large number of small islands and islets
in the Caribbean sea.  The capital is the city of Caracas.

Hugo Chavez was president to Venezuela from 1999 to 2013.  The
Chavez presidency was plagued with challenges, which included a
2002 coup d'etat, a 2002 national strike and a 2004 recall
referendum.  Nicolas Maduro was elected president in 2013 after the
death of Chavez.  Maduro won a second term at the May 2018
Venezuela elections, but this result has been challenged by
countries including Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Canada,
Germany, France and the United States who deemed it fraudulent and
moved to recognize Juan Guaido as president.

The presidencies of Chavez and Maduro have challenged Venezuela
with a socioeconomic and political crisis.  It is marked by
hyperinflation, climbing hunger, poverty, disease, crime and death
rates, social unrest, corruption and emigration from the country.

S&P Global Ratings, in May 2019, removed its long- and short-term
local currency sovereign credit ratings on Venezuela from
CreditWatch with negative implications and affirmed them at
'CCC-/C'. The outlook on the long-term local currency rating is
negative. At the same time, S&P affirmed its 'SD/D' long- and
short-term foreign currency sovereign credit ratings on Venezuela.

Moody's credit rating (long term foreign and domestic issuer
ratings) for Venezuela was last set at C with stable outlook in
March 2018.  Meanwhile, Fitch's long term issuer default rating for
Venezuela was last in 2017 at RD and country ceiling was CC. Fitch,
on June 27, 2019, affirmed then withdrew the ratings due to the
imposition of U.S. sanctions on Venezuela.



                           *********


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, Julie Anne L. Toledo, Ivy B. Magdadaro, and Peter A.
Chapman, Editors.

Copyright 2021.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2746.

This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or
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of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription or
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