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

          Wednesday, May 4, 2022, Vol. 23, No. 83

                           Headlines



A R G E N T I N A

ARGENTINA: IDB Approves US$33M Loan to Promote Nature Tourism


B R A Z I L

BRAZIL: Emergency Power Plants Run Risk of Not Operating
BRAZIL: General Aviation Against Abandonment of Congonhas Airport


D O M I N I C A N   R E P U B L I C

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Banana Exports in a Difficult Situation


G U A T E M A L A

INGENIO MAGDALENA: Moody's Assigns B1 CFR, Outlook Remains Stable


J A M A I C A

KLG GROUP: Recovers From Losses in 2020
[*] CARIBBEAN CEMENT: Records Profit Increase


M E X I C O

TOLUCA MUNICIPALITY: Moody's Withdraws 'Caa1' Issuer Ratings


T R I N I D A D   A N D   T O B A G O

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Minister Says Government Not Punishing People

                           - - - - -


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A R G E N T I N A
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ARGENTINA: IDB Approves US$33M Loan to Promote Nature Tourism
-------------------------------------------------------------
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a US$33
million loan to foster nature tourism in Argentina aimed at
promoting a post-pandemic economic recovery, given the potential of
this sector in line with visitors' changing preferences.

The program will finance investments in tourism amenities for seven
priority nature routes: the Puna, Valleys, Gorges, and Yungas
Route; the End of the World Route, the Missionary Forest Route; the
Coastline and Great Rivers Route; the Atlantic Coast Plains Route;
the Patagonian Sea Route; and the High Andes Route.

The funds will be used to improve existing trails and open new
ones, as well as to build and upgrade bike paths, bridges,
viewpoints, shelters, and camping sites. The works will be carried
out taking into account sustainability and climate adaptation and
mitigation criteria and encouraging the use of ecological building
materials and renewable energy.

Tourism in Argentina plunged in 2019 and 2020 due to sanitary
restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, with declines of 70
percent in incoming tourism and 61 percent in domestic tourism.
Before the pandemic, international tourism revenues had been on the
rise, increasing by 27 percent between 2009 and 2019.

This program is expected to help raise spending on nature tourism
from a total of $1.41 billion to $1.46 billion by 2027.

It will also finance actions to boost Argentina's country brand
associated with its nature routes at the national and international
levels. Activities to promote tourism internationally will include
designing and implementing an online platform; supporting events,
business rounds, and national and international fairs; and
launching a strategy for communications and promotional materials.

In addition, grants will be made available to tourism-related
ventures and companies within the identified routes, including
cooperatives, producer associations, and micro, small, and medium
enterprises (MSMEs). Thirty-five percent of the financing will be
earmarked for women-led companies. The program is expected to
directly benefit 60,385 tourism-sector employees and 27,492 tourism
ventures, while the number of MSMEs serving the sector is forecast
to grow from 27,492 to more than 31,000.

The resources will also strengthen tourism and socio-environmental
governance of the nature routes through assistance and training to
improve territorial management and productive development;
promotion of private investment opportunities; assistance to local
and provincial governments to maintain the public infrastructure
financed by the program; and studies aimed at reducing the carbon
footprint.

The executing agency for the project will be Argentina's National
Tourism and Sports Ministry. The loan is for a 25-year term, with a
5.5-year grace period, and will be disbursed over five years.

                     About Argentina

Argentina is a country located mostly in the southern half of
South America.  Its capital is Buenos Aires. Alberto Angel
Fernandez is the current president of Argentina after winning
the October 2019 general election. He succeeded Mauricio
Macri in the position.

Argentina has the third largest economy in Latin America.  The
country's economy is an upper middle-income economy for fiscal
year 2019, according to the World Bank. Historically, however,
its economic performance has been very uneven, with high
economic growth alternating with severe recessions, income
maldistribution and in the recent decades, increasing poverty.

Last March 25, 2022, Argentina finalized agreement with the IMF
for a new USD44 billion Extended Funding Facility (EFF) intended
to fund USD40 billion in looming repayments of the defunct
Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), with an extra USD4 billion in
up-front net financing. This has averted the risk of a default to
the IMF and is facilitating a parallel rescheduling of Paris
Club debt.

As reported by The Troubled Company Reporter - Latin America on
April 14, 2022, Fitch Ratings affirmed Argentina's Long-Term
Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at 'CCC'.
Fitch said Argentina's 'CCC' ratings reflect weak external
liquidity and pronounced macroeconomic imbalances that undermine
debt repayment capacity, and uncertainty regarding how much
progress can be made on these issues under a new IMF program.
Fitch added that it is uncertain whether the EFF will be a
strong anchor for macroeconomic stabilization. Its policy
requirements are fairly unambitious relative to other IMF
programs and in light of the economy's deep imbalances, but it
faces heightened risk nonetheless from weak political support and
spill-overs from the Russia-Ukraine war, says Fitch.

Standard & Poor's credit rating for Argentina stands at CCC+ with
stable outlook, which was a rating upgrade issued on Sept. 8,
2020. Moody's credit rating for Argentina was last set at Ca on
Sept. 28, 2020.  DBRS' credit rating for Argentina is CCC, given
on Sept. 11, 2020.




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B R A Z I L
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BRAZIL: Emergency Power Plants Run Risk of Not Operating
--------------------------------------------------------
Rio Times Online reports that in October, the 14 natural gas
thermoelectric plants contracted in the emergency auction held by
Aneel (National Agency for Electrical Energy) and CCEE (Chamber for
Commercialization of Electrical Energy) are with the start of
operation delayed or without any forecast.

According to the Simplified Competitive Procedure notice, these
plants should start operating May 1, 2022, according to Rio Times
Online.

Natural gas plants contracted at prices seven times higher than
normal are unpredictable or behind schedule, the report notes.
Unjustified delays can lead to fines and contract termination, the
report adds.

                       About Brazil

Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world and third largest
in the Americas.  Jair Bolsonaro is the current president, having
been sworn in on Jan. 1, 2019.

As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on
April 15, 2022, Moody's Investors Service affirmed the Government
of Brazil's long-term Ba2 issuer ratings and senior unsecured bond
ratings, (P)Ba2 senior unsecured shelf ratings, and maintained the
stable outlook.

Standard & Poor's credit rating for Brazil stands at BB- with
stable outlook (April 2020). S&P's 'BB-/B' long-and short-term
foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings for Brazil
were
affirmed in December 2021 with stable outlook. Fitch Ratings'
credit rating for Brazil stands at 'BB-' with a negative outlook
(November 2020).  Fitch's 'BB-' Long-Term Foreign and Local
Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) has been affirmed in
December 2021.  DBRS's credit rating for Brazil is BB (low) with
stable outlook (March 2018).

BRAZIL: General Aviation Against Abandonment of Congonhas Airport
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Lachlan Williams at Rio Times Online reports that the Brazilian
General Aviation Association (ABAG) has applied to the Federal
Court of Accounts for an injunction, pointing to irregularities in
the seventh round of airport concessions promoted by the National
Agency for Civil Aviation (ANAC), which foresees the permanent
extinction of general aviation from Congonhas Airport, the second
largest airport in Sao Paulo, starting in 2023.

According to ABAG, this will cause significant damage, says the
report.

Congonhas is located in the middle of the city of Sao Paulo and is
ideal for travelers who have business in the megacity, according to
Rio Times Online.

                       About Brazil

Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world and third largest
in the Americas.  Jair Bolsonaro is the current president, having
been sworn in on Jan. 1, 2019.

As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on
April 15, 2022, Moody's Investors Service affirmed the Government
of Brazil's long-term Ba2 issuer ratings and senior unsecured bond
ratings, (P)Ba2 senior unsecured shelf ratings, and maintained the
stable outlook.

Standard & Poor's credit rating for Brazil stands at BB- with
stable outlook (April 2020). S&P's 'BB-/B' long-and short-term
foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings for Brazil
were
affirmed in December 2021 with stable outlook. Fitch Ratings'
credit rating for Brazil stands at 'BB-' with a negative outlook
(November 2020).  Fitch's 'BB-' Long-Term Foreign and Local
Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) has been affirmed in
December 2021.  DBRS's credit rating for Brazil is BB (low) with
stable outlook (March 2018).



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D O M I N I C A N   R E P U B L I C
===================================

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Banana Exports in a Difficult Situation
-----------------------------------------------------------
Dominican Today reports that the banana sector has been hit by
rising costs and falling prices in international markets.

The increase in freight, fertilizers and supplies such as boxes are
among the increased cost factors, according to Dominican Today.
The aggravating circumstance is that the destination markets refuse
to assume these cost increases, the report relays.

The Dominican Republic exports about 455 containers a week, more
than 90% of organic bananas, the report notes.

From 2016 to date, the price of bananas has plummeted by almost 35%
of the Dominican Republic's export price, the report discloses.
The gap between the price of organic and conventional bananas is
getting closer every day, to the detriment of Dominican exporters,
the report relays.

This makes Dominican banana exports less competitive because the
costs in this country are higher than those of other exporting
countries, the report notes.

The fall in prices has to do with the deterioration in the
purchasing power of the population of the consuming countries,
aggravated by the war since Russia is one of the leading consuming
countries of the fruit, the report relays.

                         Production

Countries that sent bananas to Russia because they managed to
obtain a lower price in their internal production levels have to
divert those fruits destined for that market to Europe, putting
downward pressure on demand and, consequently, on prices, the
report notes.

The Dominican Republic had an advantage with the production of
organic bananas, which had a much higher price than the
conventional ones, the report discloses.  Still, in recent years
the difference in prices has been narrowing, with the aggravating
fact that the European Union, instead of making the regulations,
has increased them, increasing costs for that concept, making the
Dominican exporter lose profitability, the report says.

In 2021, exports of fresh, organic, and dry bananas and plantains
totaled US$228.8 million, an increase of 79.6% compared to the
previous year, when they stood at US$127.4 million, the report
notes.

Some 372,812.26 metric tons were exported, the report says.

When consulted on the matter, the president of the Dominican
Association of Banana Producers (Asobanano), Hilario Pelegrini,
raises the need to activate a national banana policy, bringing
together private and government strategies to find a solution, the
report relays.

Meanwhile, he said that a relaxation of the producers' debt and the
granting of financing to buy fertilizers are being negotiated with
the Agricultural Bank, the report notes.

He said that banana growers were left heavily in debt from the
damage caused by the 2016 and 2017 floods, 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.

TCRLA 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, in December 2021, revised the Outlook on Dominican
Republic's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR)
to Stable from Negative and affirmed the IDRs at 'BB-'.  The
revision of the Outlook to Stable reflects the narrowing of
Dominican Republic's government deficit and financing needs since
Fitch's last review resulting in the stabilization of the
government debt/GDP ratio, as well as the investment-driven
economic momentum, reflected in the faster-than-expected economic
recovery in 2021 that Fitch expects to carry into above-potential
GDP growth during 2022 and 2023.

Standard & Poor's, also in December 2021, revised its outlook on
the Dominican Republic to stable from negative.  S&P also affirmed
its 'BB-' long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit
ratings and its 'B' short-term sovereign credit ratings.  The
stable outlook reflects S&P's expectation of continued favorable
GDP growth and policy continuity over the next 12 to 18 months that
will likely stabilize the government's debt burden, despite lack of
progress with broader tax reforms, S&P said.  A rapid economic
recovery from the downturn because of the pandemic should mitigate
external and fiscal risks.

Moody's affirmed the Dominican Republic's long-term issuer and
senior unsecured ratings at Ba3 and maintained the stable outlook
in March 2021.




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G U A T E M A L A
=================

INGENIO MAGDALENA: Moody's Assigns B1 CFR, Outlook Remains Stable
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has assigned a Corporate Family Rating to
Ingenio Magdalena S.A. (IMSA) converting the provisional rating
into a definitive B1. The outlook for the rating is stable.

The conversion considers IMSA's successful refinancing of all of
its current bank debt, a balance of $513 million. The new debt
structure will improve the company's liquidity by reducing its
annual debt amortizations to around $24 million from 2023 to 2032,
with no significant maturities until a $250 million amortization in
2029. IMSA will also have a $60 million revolving credit facility.
Despite the improvement in liquidity, Moody's expect the company to
make full use of the revolving facility for working capital
purposes during the harvest. Before the refinancing liquidity was
very weak with $43 million in cash and equivalents, as of December
2021, with a concentration of $103 million in debt maturing in the
short-term.

Ratings Assigned:

Issuer: Ingenio Magdalena S.A.

Corporate Family Rating, Definitive Rating Assigned B1

Outlook Actions:

Issuer: Ingenio Magdalena S.A.

Outlook, Remains Stable

RATINGS RATIONALE

Ingenio Magdalena S.A.'s (IMSA) B1 rating is supported by its
competitive position as the largest sugarcane producer in Guatemala
which is the 4th largest global exporter of white sugar globally;
large scale of IMSA mills with an annual crushing capacity of 6.9
million tons; stable production and price environment in Guatemala
with annual production quotas for the local market and stable local
wholesale prices; high percentage of energy sales with long-term
contracts; export focus on the higher priced refined white sugar
and efficiency of operations with high agricultural yields and
efficient logistics assets.

Constraining the ratings is IMSA small size on a global scale with
annual revenues of $463 million in the LTM ended in September 2021,
concentration in a single production site, in a single geographical
region, Guatemala, which leaves the company highly exposed to event
risks, be it weather, disease, or even political risk and trade
asymmetries. Exposure to the inherent volatility of the sugar
business coupled with a high percentage of own production which
allows for higher yield control and sugarcane availability but
leads to high fixed costs of the agricultural activities.

In September 2021 IMSA's adjusted gross leverage, including leases,
was 4.6x; EUR believes leverage will fall in the coming three years
to a range of 4.0x to 3.7x with an improving EBITDA generation from
higher sugar prices in the coming harvests as compared to
2018-2019. Coverage ratio of IMSA measured by
(EBITDA-Capex)/Interest Expense reached 2.7x in September 2021 and
Moody's expects it to surpass 3.0x in the next 3 harvests, with a
lower interest burden.

The stable outlook incorporates that IMSA will reduce its gross
leverage and maintain it at an adequate level through the commodity
price cycles; liquidity will remain adequate with cash covering its
short-term debt maturities.

FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS

A rating upgrade would require IMSA to maintain a robust liquidity
profile, represented by a cash position consistently above
short-term debt levels, and stable margins through the harvest and
through commodity price cycles, with an adequate debt maturity
profile and a reduction in gross leverage. Quantitatively, an
upgrade would require its total Moody's adjusted Debt/EBITDA to
remain consistently below 3.5x and Cash Flow from Operations/Debt
consistently above 15%.

A rating downgrade could result from IMSA's inability to maintain
an adequate debt maturity schedule and liquidity profile. An
increase in leverage, deterioration of credit metrics and liquidity
could pose negative pressure on the rating. Quantitatively, a
downgrade would happen if total adjusted Debt/EBITDA remains above
4.5x and Cash Flow from Operations/Debt expected to remain below
10%.

The principal methodology used in this rating was Protein and
Agriculture published in November 2021.

Headquartered in Guatemala City, Guatemala, Ingenio Magdalena S.A.
is the largest sugarcane producer in the country. In the LTM ended
in September 2021 IMSA generated revenues of $463 million mainly
from sales of sugar, energy, alcohol. White refined sugar is the
company`s most relevant revenue line with a 32% participation in
total revenues. The company's production and sugarcane sourcing is
in the Pacific Coast region of Guatemala.



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J A M A I C A
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KLG GROUP: Recovers From Losses in 2020
---------------------------------------
RJR News reports that listed company K.L.E Group has reversed the
huge losses it suffered in 2020.

Its 2021 financial results published on April 29 show a $13.8
million profit versus a $104 million loss in the prior year,
according to RJR News.

Last month, K.L.E announced a restructuring to shift focus from its
restaurant business to other earning streams to include
development, the report notes.

It will transfer its restaurant operations to operate under T&R
Restaurant Systems Limited, which trades as Franjam, the report
relays.

FranJam is an associated company, in which KLE owns a 49% stake,
the report adds.

[*] CARIBBEAN CEMENT: Records Profit Increase
---------------------------------------------
RJR News reports that Caribbean Cement Company's profit increased
during the quarter ended March.

Post tax earnings for the three months was $1.6 billion compared to
$1.5 billion during the same period in 2021, according to RJR News.


The cement company's revenue was 14% higher at $6.8 billion, the
report notes.  

Caribbean Cement says this was driven by increased sales in the
local market, the report adds.

                     About Caribbean Cement

Caribbean Cement Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries,
manufactures and sells cement and clinker in Jamaica and other
Caribbean countries. The company was incorporated in 1947 and is
based in Kingston, Jamaica.  

As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on
August 16, 2021, Jamaica Observer said that after enduring years
of sluggish results and a mountain of debt, Caribbean Cement
has shrunk its long-term debt from $11.39 billion in 2018 to
$500 million as at June 30, 2021.  At the same time, the company
reported $3.09 billion in net profit over the six months which
ended June 30. Its profit for all of 2020 was $3.2 billion.
The performance is coming off a challenging decade for the
cement producer which included four consecutive years of losses
from 2009 to 2013.




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M E X I C O
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TOLUCA MUNICIPALITY: Moody's Withdraws 'Caa1' Issuer Ratings
------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's de Mexico S.A. de C.V has withdrawn the Caa1 (Global Scale,
local currency) and B3.mx (Mexico National Scale) issuer ratings of
the Municipality of Toluca. Moody's has also withdrawn the negative
outlook and the caa1 baseline credit assessment (BCA).

RATINGS RATIONALE

Moody's has decided to withdraw the ratings for its own business
reasons.

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Regional and
Local Governments published in January 2018.



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T R I N I D A D   A N D   T O B A G O
=====================================

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Minister Says Government Not Punishing People
----------------------------------------------------------------
Trinidad Express reports that any notion that the Government's fuel
price increases were meant as a punitive measure against the
population has been dismissed by the Minister in the Ministry of
Finance Brian Manning.

This followed an accusation by Opposition Senator Wade Mark that
the implementation two weeks ago of higher prices for gasoline and
diesel was intended to "punish" the people of Trinidad and Tobago,
according to Trinidad Express.

Speaking during matters on the adjournment in the Senate, Mark said
the People's Partnership government had sought to raise the
standard of living of the population and had never dipped its hands
into the pockets of poor people, the report notes.

Manning was in disagreement and in his response recalled scandals
surrounding LifeSportTT and Super Industrial Services (SIS), the
report relays.

He went on to state that the reduction in the fuel subsidy "is not
meant to be punitive," the report discloses.

"It is about shared responsibility," Manning stated, the report
relays.

He said subsidies were inherently "inefficient and unsustainable",
noting that subsidized commodities like fuel were maintained
through taxes and not by revenue from any State enterprise, the
report relays.

"I remind the population that because you are receiving something
for free, it does not mean that it is not being paid for," Manning
said. He added that there was no comparison based on the cost of
living among other Caricom countries, that would have justified
retaining the subsidy, the report discloses.

"How do you compare an economy where almost everything is
subsidized by the State with taxpayer dollars to economies where
very little is subsidized?" he questioned. He also said local
prices remain among the lowest in the Caribbean and the Western
Hemisphere, the report says.

Manning said taxpayer money that was not spent on such subsidies
could be spent more effectively on "strengthening our social safety
net in food cards, grants, unemployment benefits, public
transportation and other measures which are designed to protect the
poorest amongst us," the report discloses.

                      Medicine, Empathy

According to the report, Manning said the Government's actions were
designed to protest the interests of the people and added, "The
Government empathises with the challenges that we all now face."

He added, however, that "Sometimes the most effective economic
medicine comes with a bitter taste."

He later stated that being a minister of finance was not a
"popularity contest" and said the United National Congress (UNC)
was seeking to place popularity ahead of governance, the report
notes.

Manning said with the Covid-19 pandemic the world, as well as T&T,
had weathered one of the sharpest economic downturns in history,
the report relays.

He said this had not come without a cost and "tough decisions and
sacrifices have to be made," the report discloses.

Manning gave the assurance that the Government will stand with
citizens as T&T charts a course through "rough waters churned by
the pandemic and geopolitical issues," the report notes.

On April 8, 2022, Finance Minister Colm Imbert announced in the
Parliament that the Government had further reduced its fuel
subsidy, which meant higher retail prices at gas stations, the
report says.

From April 19, premium gas increased by $1 at the pumps, jumping
from $5.97 and $4.97 to $6.75 and $5.97. The price per litre for
diesel also increased from $3.41 to $3.91, the report adds.



                           *********


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 2022.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2746.

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