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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

          Friday, December 30, 2022, Vol. 23, No. 255

                           Headlines



A R G E N T I N A

ARGENTINA: IMF OKs US$6 Billion in Fresh Funds


B A H A M A S

FTX TRADING: Owner, Execs Received Billions in Hidden Loans


D O M I N I C A N   R E P U B L I C

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Will Intensify Infrastructure Investments


P E R U

PERU: Central Bank Slightly Lowers 2023 Economic Growth Estimate
RUTAS DE LIMA: S&P Affirms 'BB-' Issue Rating, Outlook Stable


T R I N I D A D   A N D   T O B A G O

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: IDB Lends US$80 Mil to Improve Water Supply

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A R G E N T I N A
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ARGENTINA: IMF OKs US$6 Billion in Fresh Funds
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Buenos Aires Times reports that the International Monetary Fund
said that its executive board had approved the latest review of
Argentina's multi-billion-dollar credit-line and approved a
disbursement of US$6 billion in fresh funds, allowing the
government to receive more money as the economy shows signs of
slowing.

This new disbursement, validated by the Fund's board of directors,
means the troubled country has now received US$23.5 billion since
it signed a new debt assistance programme last March, according to
Buenos Aires Times.

In total, the 30-month programme is expected to reach a total of
US$44 billion (or 31.91 billion Special Drawing Rights or SDRs, the
IMF's foreign exchange reserve-based unit of account) for
Argentina, by far the largest aid programme ever granted by the
international lender, the report notes.

The IMF also said it was satisfied with the economic policies
implemented by the government since last July, highlighting falling
inflation, an improvement in the trade balance and also in foreign
exchange reserves, the report relays.

"However, macroeconomic imbalances persist, and conditions remain
fragile," said Gita Gopinath, deputy managing director of the Fund,
quoted in a IMF communique, the report notes.

In particular, the Argentine government must maintain its policy of
reducing the public deficit in order to "support the disinflation
and reserve accumulation processes, alleviate financing pressures,
and strengthen debt sustainability," Gopinath added.

IMF officials also approved two waivers for Argentina regarding
foreign exchange restrictions and multiple rates, and called for
their removal as soon as possible, the report discloses.  In
November, Argentina reinstated a temporary exchange rate only for
soybean exports that runs through the end of the year, which IMF
staff said "is not a substitute for sound macroeconomic policies,"
the report relays.

Argentina's agreement with the IMF foresees a series of measures
aimed at controlling the country's chronic inflation, which has
reached 85.3 per cent sof far in 2022, despite a marked slowdown in
November, the report notes.

This is the 13th agreement concluded between the IMF and Argentina
since the country's return to democracy in 1983, the report says.

The third largest economy in Latin America, Argentina has been
experiencing chronic double-digit annual inflation for two decades,
the report discloses.  Economists expect growth to slow to less
than one percent next year, according to the Central Bank's latest
survey of market expectations, the report notes.

The situation remains precarious for the 36.5 percent of Argentines
who are in poverty, according to data from the first half of the
year, of whom 8.8 percent are in extreme poverty, the report
relays.

Argentina has also had a recent period of instability at the head
of its economy portfolio, with no fewer than three heads of the
ministry in less than six months, the report notes.

The architect of the IMF agreement, Martin Guzman, resigned in a
surprise move at the beginning of July, and was replaced by Silvina
Batakis, who resigned a month later, leaving Sergio Massa at the
head of a 'super-ministry' that brings together three economic and
productive portfolios, the report adds.

                     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 in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on Nov.
18, 2022, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'CCC+/C' foreign currency
sovereign credit ratings on Argentina. S&P lowered the long-term
local currency sovereign credit rating to 'CCC-' from 'CCC+' and
the national scale rating to 'raCCC+' from 'raBBB-'. S&P also
affirmed its 'C' short-term local currency rating. The outlook on
the long-term ratings is negative. S&P's 'CCC+' transfer and
convertibility assessment is unchanged.

Last 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. On
July 19, 2022, Fitch Ratings placed Argentina's Long-Term Foreign
Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and Long-Term Local Currency
IDR Under Criteria Observation (UCO) following the conversion of
the agency's Exposure Draft: Sovereign Rating Criteria to final
criteria. The UCO assignment indicates that
ratings may change as a direct result of the final criteria. It
does not indicate a change in the underlying credit profile, nor
does it affect existing Rating Outlooks.

Moody's credit rating for Argentina was last set at Ca on Sept. 28,
2020.

DBRS has also confirmed Argentina's Long-Term Foreign Currency
Issuer Rating at CCC and Long-Term Local Currency Issuer Rating at
CCC (high) on July 21, 2022.




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B A H A M A S
=============

FTX TRADING: Owner, Execs Received Billions in Hidden Loans
-----------------------------------------------------------
Luc Cohen and Tom Hals at Reuters report that Sam Bankman-Fried and
other FTX executives received billions of dollars in secret loans
from the crypto mogul's Alameda Research, the hedge fund's former
chief told a judge when she pleaded guilty to her role in the
exchange's collapse.

Caroline Ellison, former chief executive of Alameda Research, said
she agreed with Bankman-Fried to hide from FTX's investors, lenders
and customers that the hedge fund could borrow unlimited sums from
the exchange, according a transcript of her Dec. 19 plea hearing
that was unsealed, according to Reuters.

"We prepared certain quarterly balance sheets that concealed the
extent of Alameda's borrowing and the billions of dollars in loans
that Alameda had made to FTX executives and to related parties,"
Ellison told U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams in Manhattan federal
court, according to the transcript, the report notes.

Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang both pleaded guilty and are
cooperating with prosecutors as part of their plea agreements, the
report relays.  Their sworn statements offer a preview of how two
of Bankman-Fried's former associates might testify at trial against
him as prosecution witnesses, the report discloses.

In a separate plea hearing, also on Dec. 19, Wang said he was
directed to make changes to FTX's code to give Alameda special
privileges on the trading platform, while being aware that others
were telling investors and customers that Alameda had no such
privileges, the report says.

Wang did not specify who gave him those directions.

Nicolas Roos, a prosecutor, said in court that Bankman-Fried's
trial would include evidence from "multiple cooperating witnesses."
Roos said Bankman-Fried carried out a "fraud of epic proportions"
that led to the loss of billions of dollars of customer and
investor funds, the report says.

Bankman-Fried has acknowledged risk-management failures at FTX but
said he does not believe he has criminal liability. He has not yet
entered a plea, the report notes.

Bankman-Fried founded FTX in 2019 and rode a boom in the values of
bitcoin and other digital assets to become a billionaire several
times over as well as an influential donor to U.S. political
campaigns, the report relays.

A flurry of customer withdrawals in early November amid concerns
about commingling of FTX funds with Alameda prompted FTX to declare
bankruptcy on Nov. 11, the report notes.

Bankman-Fried, 30, was released on $250 million bond. His
spokesperson declined to comment on Ellison and Wang's statements.

Lawyers for Wang and Ellison declined to comment.

Ellison told the court that when investors in June 2022 recalled
loans they had made to Alameda, she agreed with others to borrow
billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to repay them,
understanding that customers were not aware of the arrangement, the
report notes.

"I am truly sorry for what I did," Ellison said, adding that she is
helping to recover customer assets, notes the report.

Wang also said he knew what he was doing was wrong, the report
relays.

The transcript of Ellison's hearing was initially sealed out of
concern that the disclosure of her cooperation could thwart
prosecutors' efforts to extradite Bankman-Fried from the Bahamas,
where he lived and where FTX was based, court records showed, the
report notes.

Bankman-Fried was arrested in the capital Nassau on Dec. 12 and
arrived in the United States after consenting to extradition, the
report discloses.

A magistrate judge ordered him confined to his parents' California
home until trial, the report relays.

Abrams recused herself from the case, saying in a court order that
the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, where her husband is a
partner, advised FTX in 2021, the report says.

The firm also represented parties that could be adverse to FTX and
Bankman-Fried in other proceedings, the judge said, and while her
husband had no involvement in these matters, which "were
confidential and their substance is unknown to the Court," she was
recusing herself to avoid a possible conflict, the report adds.




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

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Will Intensify Infrastructure Investments
-------------------------------------------------------------
Dominican Today reports that President Luis Abinader has directed
that capital investment in construction-related items be increased
in the first quarter of 2023 by the major government entities,
particularly those responsible for public works and buildings.
Abinader and Vice President Raquel Pena presided over a Council of
Ministers meeting in the National Palace, where the 2022 executions
were reviewed and strategies for promotion were developed for the
first months of the new year.

According to Jose Ignacio Paliza, the Administrative Minister of
the Presidency, the goal of this measure is to "further stimulate
economic growth in 2023, which is estimated to be 4.5%, also one of
the highest in the Latin American region," the report notes,

To this, he added that beginning in January, "we will be able to
respond to many of the social problems in a large part of the
national territory," allowing the people to "enjoy greater
well-being" while maintaining the pace of economic growth,
according to Dominican Today.  According to Paliza, only the
Ministry of Public Works completed more than 200 projects in the
last two years, while the other institutions associated with this
sector completed nearly the entire budget allocated for these
purposes, the report relays.

In terms of economic performance, he stated that the government is
making "appropriate use" of public funds by reiterating that the
Dominican Republic will have one of the highest economic growth
rates in the region. Furthermore, he recalled how risk rating
agencies such as Standard & Poor's helped the country's position,
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.

As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on Dec.
21, 2022,  S&P Global Ratings raised its long-term foreign and
local currency sovereign credit ratings on the Dominican Republic
to 'BB' from 'BB-'. The outlook on the long-term ratings is stable.
S&P affirmed its 'B' short-term sovereign credit ratings. S&P also
revised its transfer and convertibility (T&C) assessment to 'BBB-'
from 'BB+'.

The TCR-LA reported in April 2019 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.




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P E R U
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PERU: Central Bank Slightly Lowers 2023 Economic Growth Estimate
----------------------------------------------------------------
Reuters reports that the Central Reserve Bank of Peru slightly
reduced its economic growth projection for 2023 to 2.9% from 3.0%.


Annual inflation in the copper-rich South American country is seen
reaching 8.2% in 2022 before declining to 3% in 2023, the central
bank said, according to Reuters.

It sees a 2022 fiscal deficit of 1.6% of gross domestic product,
compared to a previous forecast of 1.9%, the report noted, Reuters
relays.

Peru is under a state of emergency amid violent protests that have
left at least 16 dead following the ousting and arrest of former
President Pedro Castillo, notes the report.


RUTAS DE LIMA: S&P Affirms 'BB-' Issue Rating, Outlook Stable
-------------------------------------------------------------
On Dec. 28, 2022, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'BB-' issue
rating on Rutas de Lima S.A.C.'s debt (RdL or the project) and
removed it from under criteria observation (UCO).

The outlook on the rating is stable and reflects S&P's expectation
of steady traffic growth in the next 12 months, leading to a debt
service coverage ratio (DSCR) of 1.7x-2.1x in 2023.

On Dec. 14, 2022, S&P Global Ratings published its revised criteria
for rating Project Finance Transactions, "General Project Finance
Rating Methodology" and "Sector-Specific Project Finance Rating
Methodology," and placed the ratings on several project finance
issues under criteria observation (UCO).

S&P said, "We have completed our review of the issue-level rating
on Rutas de Lima S.A.C.'s debt (RdL or the project), which we had
placed on UCO. Therefore,

"Under the revised criteria, we apply a negative regulatory risk
adjustment to the project, which leads to a change in the
operations phase business assessment (OPBA) to '6' from '5', but
which doesn't affect the issue rating.

"As of the date of this report, all the legal disputes that the
project had with the grantor regarding the suspension of toll
collections and the opposition to tariff increases have resulted in
final judgements in favor of RdL. Although the this sets a
favorable precedent for the project if there are further legal
disputes, it also highlights that the municipality of Lima has
breached the concession agreement on several occasions in the past,
which we view as a credit weakness. Based on this track record, we
consider that the project continues to be exposed to an uncertain
regulatory framework that could potentially affect the rating.

"The Derby project (PS) is 95% completed and the remaining works
are pending due to the delay in the delivery of some permits. For
Canta Callao (PN), the construction progress is 80% done and is
still pending the delivery of the property land rights. The project
is also pending the land permits for the RP section, which haven't
had material progress since 2017. We expect the pending works will
be completed by 2023 for PS (before the existing deadline), by 2024
for PN (after the existing deadline) and by 2027-2028 for RP (after
the existing deadline).

"If the work on both of the PS and PN sections isn't concluded by
Dec. 31, 2023, and the RP section by Dec. 31, 2024, a refusal of
the bondholders to approve an extension could potentially trigger a
default. This would mean that RdL's debt could, ultimately, be
accelerated, which we view as a credit weakness compared to
similarly rated projects. For this reason, we continue to assign a
negative holistic analysis adjustment. Nevertheless, there's a
record of the bondholders agreeing to amend the limit date under
harsher traffic and economic conditions, so we think it's likely
they could grant another extension."




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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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TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: IDB Lends US$80 Mil to Improve Water Supply
--------------------------------------------------------------
Trinidad Express reports that the Inter-American Development Bank
(IDB) has approved an US$80 million ($544 million) loan to boost
the efficiency, quality, sustainability, and resilience of this
country's drinking water supply and water security.

In a news release, the IDB said the US$80 million loan is part of a
US$315 million conditional credit line for T&T's National Water
Sector Transformation Program, according to Trinidad Express.

The initial loan disbursement will funds for institutional
strengthening and capacity building to help the country's Ministry
of Public Utilities and its executing agency, the Water and
Sewerage Authority (WASA), improve their governance and sustainable
management of water resources, the report notes.

It noted that the program will directly benefit an estimated
1,025,000 residents (310,665 households), plus an additional
279,500 residents (84,705 households) in surrounding communities,
the report relays.

According to the IDB, approximately 16,841 business, agricultural,
and industrial customers and charitable institutions in different
supply areas will benefit as well, the report says.

The program will also support WASA's operational, commercial, and
technical management by providing access to innovative digital
transformation tools and technologies and data-driven management
systems, the report notes.

"WASA's services will be upgraded through network rehabilitation
and optimization, organizational development and capacity building,
integrated water resources management, climate change, and natural
disaster risk management, and leveraging the IDB's experience in
water loss reduction projects.  All of these actions promise to
lower the agency's operating costs and subsidies," the IDB release
further outlined, the report relays.

The program is also aligned with the IDB group's country strategy
2021/2025 for T&T, specifically the strategic objective of
optimizing digital service delivery by digitising operational
processes and adopting smart technology for water infrastructure
and related information and communications technologies, the report
relays.

The loan will be disbursed over four years, with a 25-year
repayment term, a 5.5-year grace period, and an interest rate based
on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), the report notes.

                         Previous Facility

WASA has benefited from several IDB loans in the past, including a
US$546.5 million, three-phase program aimed at improving T&T's
environmental conditions by reducing uncontrolled discharge of
untreated wastewater, the report relays.

The first phase of that program was financed by a $246.5 million
loan from the IDB, which was approved by the IDB in December 2012,
the report discloses.  The first phase was meant to focus on the
construction of two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), in San
Fernando and Malabar catchments respectively, and their attendant
trunk sewers, the report notes.  The first phase of that program
also focused on the institutional strengthening of WASA through
personnel training and implementation of key actions to improve
commercial management services and corporate governance, the report
relays.

The goal of the first phase was that 90 per cent of the wastewater
treated by the new plants would meet water pollution norms and have
a zero or positive net impact on downstream water quality, the
report says.

Government commissioned wastewater treatment plants in Trincity and
San Fernando this year, the report adds.



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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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