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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, January 13, 2023, Vol. 24, No. 11

                           Headlines



B A H A M A S

BAHAMAS: Welcomed Six Million Visitors up to Nov. 2022
FTX GROUP: Teams in US, Bahamas to Coordinate Fund Recovery Efforts


B O L I V I A

BOLIVIA: Exports Through Peruvian Ports Paralyzed by Blockades


B R A Z I L

AEGEA SANEAMENTO: Fitch Affirms 'BB' LongTerm IDRs, Outlook Stable


D O M I N I C A N   R E P U B L I C

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Lower Airlines' Fuel Taxes is Pres.'s Priority


M E X I C O

MEXARREND SAPI: S&P Downgrades ICR to 'CCC-', On Watch Negative


T R I N I D A D   A N D   T O B A G O

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Central Bank Holds  3.5% Repo Rate


X X X X X X X X

LATAM: Slowdown in Exports from Region Consolidates

                           - - - - -


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

BAHAMAS: Welcomed Six Million Visitors up to Nov. 2022
------------------------------------------------------
RJR News reports that the Bahamas welcomed 6 million tourists up to
November 2022, just shy of the 6-point 5 million visitors in the
record period of January to November 2019.

According to data from the Bahamas Tourism Ministry, the figures
for 2022 is four times the 1.5 million tourists recorded up to the
similar period in 2021. Nassau and Paradise Island received the
majority of visitors at nearly three million, most of which were
air arrivals, according to RJR News.

The Berry Islands followed with 1.53 million visitors, the vast
majority of which were sea arrivals, the report adds.

                        About The Bahamas

The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an
archipelago consisting of many islands in the Atlantic Ocean east
of Florida.

As reported in The Troubled Company Reporter - Latin America,
S&P Global Ratings affirmed on November 22, 2022, its long-term
foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on the
Commonwealth of The Bahamas at 'B+'. The outlook is stable.

In October 2022, Moody's Investors Service downgraded the
Government of The Bahamas' long-term issuer and senior unsecured
ratings to B1 from Ba3. The outlook has been changed to stable
from negative.


FTX GROUP: Teams in US, Bahamas to Coordinate Fund Recovery Efforts
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Hals and Dietrich Knauth at Reuters report that FTX's
U.S.-based bankruptcy team have agreed to coordinate with
liquidators winding down the crypto exchange's operations in the
Bahamas, resolving a dispute that threatened the recovery of what
could be billions of dollars in lost funds.

In a joint statement, the two sides said they will work to share
information, secure property and coordinate litigation against
third parties, according to Reuters.

FTX's U.S. bankruptcy team has been at odds with Bahamian officials
since November, when competing bankruptcies were filed in the two
countries, the report notes.

The Securities Commission of the Bahamas began liquidation
proceedings on Nov. 10 against FTX Digital Markets Ltd., the
company's Bahamas-based unit, the report relays.  The next day, a
U.S. Chapter 11 proceeding was filed in Delaware, which included
more than 100 FTX entities including FTX Trading and crypto hedge
fund Alameda Research, the report notes.

Bahamian regulators have seized FTX assets, which officials said
was meant to safeguard assets that will ultimately be returned to
creditors of FTX Digital Markets, the report says.

John Ray, who took control of FTX after founder Sam Bankman-Fried
resigned in November, had accused Bahamas-based liquidators of
colluding with the disgraced founder to undermine the U.S.
bankruptcy case and shift assets to the Bahamas, the report
discloses.

Ray's attorneys had refused the liquidators' demand for access to
internal systems and Slack and email accounts, saying they "did not
trust" the Bahamians with information that could be used to siphon
assets away from the U.S. bankruptcy team, recalls the report.

Bahamian securities regulators accused Ray of displaying "a
cavalier attitude towards the truth" in his statements about the
Bahamian asset seizures, the report relays.

The U.S. team has also disputed the size of the Bahamian assets
that were seized, saying they were worth $296 million in November,
not $3.5 billion as the liquidators estimated, recounts the report.
The statement said the U.S. team was now comfortable the assets
were appropriately safeguarded.

The report further discloses that Ray said there were still some
issues to be worked out in the agreement with the liquidators from
the Bahamas. The statement said details of the agreement would be
filed "shortly" with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.

Ray, one of the liquidators and attorneys for the liquidators, did
not respond to a request for comment, notes Reuters.

Bankman-Fried was arrested on fraud charges and pleaded not guilty
on Jan. 3. Ray has said the exchange lost $8 billion of customer
money, and added the bankruptcy team is focused on recovering
assets to repay creditors, adds the report.

                         About FTX Group

FTX is the world's second-largest cryptocurrency firm.  FTX is a
cryptocurrency exchange built by traders, for traders.  FTX
offers
innovative products including industry-first derivatives, options,
volatility products and leveraged tokens.

Then CEO and co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried said Nov. 10, 2022, that
FTX paused customer withdrawals after it was hit with roughly $5
billion worth of withdrawal requests.

Faced with liquidity issues, FTX on Nov. 9 struck a deal to sell
itself to its giant rival Binance, but Binance walked away from
the deal amid reports on FTX regarding mishandled customer funds
and alleged US agency investigations.

At 4:30 a.m. on Nov. 11, Bankman-Fried ultimately agreed to step
aside, and restructuring vet John J. Ray III was quickly named new
CEO.

FTX Trading Ltd (d/b/a FTX.com), West Realm Shires Services Inc.
(d/b/a FTX US), Alameda Research Ltd. and certain affiliated
companies then commenced Chapter 11 proceedings (Bankr. D. Del.
Lead Case No. 22-11068) on an emergency basis on Nov. 11, 2022.
Additional entities sought Chapter 11 protection on Nov. 14, 2022.

FTX Trading and its affiliates each listed $10 billion to $50
million in assets and liabilities, making FTX the biggest
bankruptcy filer in the US this year.  According to Reuters, SBF
shared a document with investors on Nov. 10 showing FTX had $13.86
billion in liabilities and $14.6 billion in assets.  However,
only
$900 million of those assets were liquid, leading to the cash
crunch that ended with the company filing for bankruptcy.  

The Hon. John T. Dorsey is the case judge.

The Debtors tapped Sullivan & Cromwell, LLP as bankruptcy counsel;
Landis Rath & Cobb, LLP as local counsel; and Alvarez & Marsal
North America, LLC as financial advisor. Kroll is the claims agent,

maintaining the page https://cases.ra.kroll.com/FTX/Home-Index

Lawyers at Paul Weiss represented SBF but later renounced
representing the entrepreneur due to a conflict of interest.

The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors tapped Paul Hastings
as counsel.




=============
B O L I V I A
=============

BOLIVIA: Exports Through Peruvian Ports Paralyzed by Blockades
--------------------------------------------------------------
Rio Times Online reports that Bolivian exports and imports through
Peruvian ports were once again paralyzed by roadblocks and protests
in the south of the neighboring country, due to the impeachment of
former President Pedro Castillo (2021-2022).

As reported by the Troubled Company Reporter - Latin America
on December 8, 2022, S&P Global Ratings lowered on Dec. 6, 2022,
its long-term sovereign credit ratings on Bolivia to 'B' from 'B+'.

The outlook on the long-term ratings is stable. At the same time,
S&P affirmed its 'B' short-term foreign and local currency ratings.

S&P revised down Bolivia's transfer and convertibility assessment
to 'B' from 'B+'.

S&P said, "The stable outlook indicates our expectation that
continued economic recovery and some expenditure containment
measures should gradually reduce Bolivia's fiscal deficit,
resulting in net general government debt stabilizing just above
60%
of GDP."

S&P added, "We also consider the benefits of the recent debt
management operation that reduced foreign commercial debt payment
obligations for 2023 to $183 million, from $500 originally. This
liability management operation, coupled with our expectation of
continued access to official and commercial funding, should help
sustain external liquidity and manage rising--but still moderate--
current account deficits (CADs) in the next 12 months."



===========
B R A Z I L
===========

AEGEA SANEAMENTO: Fitch Affirms 'BB' LongTerm IDRs, Outlook Stable
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Aegea Saneamento e Participacoes S.A.'s
(Aegea) Long-Term Foreign Currency (FC) and Local Currency (LC)
Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'BB' and National Long-Term Rating
(NLTR) at 'AA(bra)'. Fitch has also affirmed the NLTRs of Aegea
subsidiaries at 'AA(bra)'. The corporate ratings Outlook is
Stable.

The ratings reflect estimates of moderate net leverage and adequate
liquidity during the next three years for Aegea supported by its
sound cash flow and debt market access, important as Aegea
implement its aggressive inorganic growth strategy. Fitch expects
no material impact on Aegea's credit profile following winning bid
on privatization auction of Companhia Riograndense de Saneamento
(Corsan/AA-(bra)/Rating Watch Positive), despite relevant payment
in the short term.

Aegea's ratings reflect the consolidated figures and its strong
business position within Brazilian water/wastewater industry with
low risks. The subsidiaries' ratings are equalized with the parent
due to the medium-high incentives of Aegea to support them.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Strong Inorganic Growth: Aegea should maintain an adequate credit
profile, while acting as key industry consolidator. The company
recently won the privatization auction in December 2022 of Corsan,
in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, scheduled to be concluded in the
first semester of 2023. The funding structure of the BRL4.2 billion
payment of this transaction consists mainly of debt issuance and
complemented by an equity injection from Aegea and two local
investment funds.

The company has the challenge of a quick turn around on Corsan's
cost structure and improve efficiency so as to mitigate leverage
pressures. The incorporation of Corsan benefits Aegea's business
profile with further diversification of operations and expected
gains of scale. The company's proven expertise of operations with a
high level of profitability noted on its matured subsidiaries is
credit positive.

Moderate Financial Leverage: On a consolidated pro forma basis,
considering the incorporation of Corsan, Aegea's consolidated net
debt/EBITDA ratio should peak at 3.8x in 2023 and decline to 3.5x
in 2024 and 3.3x in 2025. This base case scenario assumes Corsan's
EBITDA margin growth to 60% by 2028, from 23% in 2022. Aegea is
also expected to perform significant investments during this
period. Any need or perception by Fitch for unexpected relevant
support on subsidiaries from Aegea may pressure the ratings. At the
end of September 2022, total debt/EBITDA and net debt/EBITDA were
4.3x and 3.5x, respectively.

Negative FCF: The consolidated EBITDA estimates for Aegea is BRL2.5
billion in 2023, increasing to BRL3.1 billion in 2024, with margins
of 60%, above average for local peers. The assumptions consider
average total billed volume growth of 4% on average per year in the
biennium and tariff increase linked to inflation. The consolidated
cash flow from operations (CFFO) should reach BRL712 million in
2023 and BRL1.0 billion in 2024. Aegea's annual FCF should remain
negative and register BRL1.6 billion, on average, in this period,
mainly pressured by annual averaged investments of BRL1.6 billion
and dividends of BRL895 million.

Resilient Demand: Aegea's credit profile benefits from resilient
demand on the water/wastewater sector. Aegea is a main private
player in this industry in Brazil and presents a diversified
portfolio of assets, which dilutes the operational, hydrological,
political and regulatory risks of its activity. Tariff increase in
the main concessions should sustain their economic-financial
balance and support robust cash generation, which is important
support for its investment cycle in the next three years. Aegea's
matured subsidiaries have high profitability, which favors its
financial and business profile.

Consolidated Approach: Aegea presents a stronger credit profile as
compared to its subsidiaries considering the positive
diversification of concessions and will most likely provide support
to them in a stress scenario. The company guarantees around 50% of
its subsidiaries' debt and has cross default languages on its
financial instruments leading to high legal incentive of support.
Subsidiaries are strategic for the company's growth under fully
integrated management decisions and overlap, leading to ratings
equalization given combination of high legal and medium-high
strategic and operational incentive to support.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Aegea's LC IDR is positioned one notch below Companhia de
Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo (Sabesp; LC IDR BB+/Stable
and FC IDR BB/Negative), which has lower leverage and a more
predictable cash generation coming from its recently established
tariff. Positively, Aegea has a more diversified portfolio of
concessions in terms of geography, which brings lower operational
and regulatory risks. Aegea and Sabesp have strong EBITDA margins.
Sabesp carries higher political risk, given its state-ownership,
yet benefits as the country's largest water/wastewater utility with
economies of scale. Transmissora Alianca de Energia Eletrica S.A.
(LC IDR BBB-/Negative and FC IDR BB/Negative), a power transmission
company, has a better credit profile than Aegea given also a more
predictable cash flow, in addition to strong financial profile and
lower regulatory risk.

Aegea's activity in Brazil is influenced by the country's operating
environment, which is subject to volatile macroeconomic
environments and mostly explains the difference in ratings from
Wessex Water Limited (WWL; BBB-/Stable), a holding company with
water operations in England. WWL subsidiaries' operating position
is strong compared with rated peers in the UK water sector due to a
long-standing record of strong operational and regulatory
performance.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

- Annual average of total volume billed growth of 5% in 2023-2025;

- Tariff increase as implemented in 2023 and in line with Fitch's
inflation estimates;

- Average annual capex of BRL1.7 billion in 2023-2025;

- Average annual dividend distributions of BRL742 million in the
next three years;

- Equity injection of BRL1.4 billion in 2023-2024 on non
consolidated subsidiaries;

- Corsan's EBITDA margin growth to 60% until 2027.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

- Consolidated net debt/EBITDA sustainably below 3.0x and
maintenance of adequate liquidity profile;

- An upgrade of the FC IDR is unlikely given the operating
environment in Brazil.

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

- Perception of unexpected additional relevant cash contributions
on subsidiaries;

- Deterioration of liquidity profile on a consolidated and
standalone basis and/or weaker financial flexibility;

- Consolidated net leverage sustainably trending to above 4.0x.

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Proven Financial Flexibility: Aegea benefit from demonstrated debt
market access, which is important to support the significant
planned investments and necessary injections at subsidiaries. The
company has to continuously fund its negative FCF generation and
manage its debt refinancing needs.

By the end of September 2022, Aegea's total debt was BRL10.4
billion, on a consolidated basis, with BRL7.7 billion at the
holding including intercompany loans. The debt was mainly comprised
of the bonds issuance (BRL2.6 billion, adjusted by hedged
derivatives), debentures (BRL5.6 billion). In the same period, the
group's liquidity profile was strong with cash and short-term
investments at BRL3.1 billion, considering that part of this amount
is to fund equity injection on subsidiaries.

ISSUER PROFILE

Aegea manages and operates water and sewage concessions in 480
municipalities in 13 Brazilian states, supported by long-term
contracts. The company is controlled by Equipav Group with 52.8%
ownership with remining shares owned by GIC (Singaporean sovereign
fund - 34.3%) and Itausa S.A. (12.9%).

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.

   Entity/Debt                Rating                Prior
   -----------                ------                -----
Aegea Saneamento e
Participacoes S.A.   LT IDR    BB      Affirmed        BB
                     LC LT IDR BB      Affirmed        BB  
                     Natl LT   AA(bra) Affirmed    AA(bra)

   senior
   unsecured         Natl LT   AA(bra) Affirmed    AA(bra)

Aguas de Teresina
Saneamento SPE
S.A.                 Natl LT AA(bra)  Affirmed     AA(bra)

   senior
   unsecured         Natl LT AA(bra) Affirmed      AA(bra)

Prolagos S.A. –
Concessionaria
de Servicos
Publicos de Agua
e Esgoto             Natl LT AA(bra)  Affirmed     AA(bra)

   senior
   unsecured         Natl LT AA(bra)  Affirmed     AA(bra)

Aegea Finance
S.a r.l.
  
   senior
   unsecured         LT      BB       Affirmed         BB

Aguas Guariroba
S.A.                 Natl LT AA(bra)  Affirmed     AA(bra)

   senior
   unsecured         Natl LT AA(bra)  Affirmed     AA(bra)

Nascentes do
Xingu
Participacoes e
Administracao S.A.   Natl LT AA(bra)  Affirmed     AA(bra)

   senior
   unsecured         Natl LT AA(bra)  Affirmed     AA(bra)



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

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Lower Airlines' Fuel Taxes is Pres.'s Priority
------------------------------------------------------------------
Dominican Today reports that the Tourism Minister, David Collado,
stated that the Tourism Cabinet has met with President Luis
Abinader and the relevant authorities to discuss the issue on
lowering airlines' fuel taxes, as it sees it as a threat to the
sector next summer.

He stated that Iberia, Air France, and other airlines had already
notified them, according to Dominican Today.  

"Lowering fuel taxes on airlines is the President of the Republic's
priority, which is why we have had emergency meetings because this
is a government that listens and works with the private sector to
keep the country competitive in aviation and tourism," he added,
the report notes.

The minister recalled that Abinader wants airlines from distant
countries to maintain direct routes with the Dominican Republic and
increase their number of flights in the face of the tourism boom,
which is why he is in "constant" communication with the directors
of Air France, specifically about the airline's intention to reduce
flights from Paris-Charles de Gaulle to Santo Domingo and Punta
Cana, which would become seasonal at the end of the 2022-2023
winter season, the report relays.

According to the airline, the last flights will be on March 23 and
25, 2023, with service resumed at the end of October for the winter
season 2023-2024, the report discloses.

In this regard, Frank Rainieri, the founder of Grupo Puntacana,
agreed with the government officials and stated that the additional
tax on jet fuel is an issue that must be carefully considered
because it could alienate airlines that serve the Dominican
Republic, effectively removing the country from the competition,
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 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.

The TCR-LA reported on December 12, 2022, that Fitch Ratings has
affirmed Dominican Republic's Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer
Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB-' with a Stable Rating Outlook. Fitch
said Dominican Republic's ratings are supported by a track record
of robust economic growth, a diversified export structure, high
per-capita GDP and social indicators, and governance scores that
compare favorably to peers' after sustained improvement in the
past
decade.

Standard & Poor's, 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.



===========
M E X I C O
===========

MEXARREND SAPI: S&P Downgrades ICR to 'CCC-', On Watch Negative
---------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term global scale issuer credit
rating on Mexarrend S.A.P.I. de C.V. to 'CCC-' from 'CCC+'. S&P
also lowered its national scale rating to 'mxCCC-/mxC' from
'mxB-/mxB'. At the same time, S&P lowered its issue-level rating on
Mexarrend's senior unsecured bonds to 'CCC-' from 'CCC+'. S&P's
maintaining all ratings on CreditWatch negative.

S&P said, "We believe that Mexarrend's liquidity may have weakened
over the last couple of months, as access to financing remains
challenging for the company. This prevented Mexarrend from
refinancing its Cebures short-term market debt maturities,
pressuring the lender's capacity to meet its upcoming short-term
financial obligations. Moreover, we haven't received an updated
strategy from the company to cover its upcoming market debt
maturities."

As of September 2022, the company had $13 million of cash on hand,
while it faces debt market maturities of about $64 million during
the next six months. These consist of $30 million of interest
payments-–$15 million on Jan. 24, 2023, and $15 million on June
24, 2023—-along with the equivalent of $34 million in Cebures
debt maturities. Even though Mexarrend has three warehousing credit
facilities, S&P hasn't received the information on the company's
eligible assets that would enable it to draw down these credit
lines.

On Dec. 16, 2022, Mexarrend announced that it's working with two
financial advisors to perform a liquidity management exercise for
its liability management strategy. Nonetheless, the lender didn't
disclose further details regarding the financial advisors, the
timeframe or the specific action plan, while it mentioned this is
mainly related to Mexarrend's international bond due 2024. Once the
company shares more details about its new strategy, S&P will
evaluate the potential credit impact.




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

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Central Bank Holds  3.5% Repo Rate
-----------------------------------------------------
Josimar Scott at Jamaica Observer reports that with Trinidad and
Tobago's headline inflation remaining stable in the third quarter
of 2022, the country's central bank announced that it will keep its
repo rate fixed at 3.5 per cent.

The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (CBTT) shared the decision
of its monetary policy committee (MPC) on December 30, 2022, noting
that the committee is "balancing all considerations," according to
Jamaica Observer.

"The central bank will continue to monitor both international and
domestic developments and will take further actions as necessary,"
it said, the report notes.

On the international side, the central bank said it has factored in
"multiple headwinds" from the global economy in 2022, such as
spillover effects of the Russia-Ukraine war, a drastic slowdown in
economic activities in China and widespread inflationary pressures
weighing on global growth, the report discloses.  Additionally, the
bank pointed to supply chain disruptions fueling the inflation of
food and fuel prices and central banks tightening monetary policy,
the report notes.

At the domestic level, the local economy continued to grow at a
gradual pace with new gas exploration activities expected to boost
production in the energy sector, the report discloses.  At the end
of November, British Petroleum Trinidad and Tobago (bpTT) LLC
delivered first gas from the Cassia C development on Trinidad's
south-eastern coast, the report says.

At the same time, business activity and consumer demand in the
non-energy sector continue to strengthen, the report relays.

"There is good evidence that financing for business expansion is
improving.  Financial system credit to businesses rose by 9.6 per
cent in October 2022 on a year-on-year basis. Banking system
liquidity is also quite high in mid-December ($7.1 billion in
excess reserves at the Central Bank)," the financial institution
outlined, the report notes.

Notwithstanding, with the unemployment rate climbing from 4.5 per
cent at the end of June to 5.4 per cent in the third quarter, the
central bank described the labor market as being "sluggish", the
report relays.

Additionally, the CBTT noted that food inflation reached 11.6 per
cent while core inflation was 4.8 per cent as at September, the
report discloses.

"External influences continued to dominate the trajectory of
domestic inflation in the first nine months of 2022.  A combination
of imported commodity prices, flooding and the impact of the
reduction in the subsidy on local fuel prices is expected to lead
to further price rises during the final quarter of this year," the
bank outlined, the report says.

Consistent with the bank's forecast that the price of fuel will
rise, the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago in October argued
that the removal of the fuel subsidy will not only trigger the
expected rise in the prices of fuel but also significantly lower
volumes of diesel and gasoline sales, the report notes.

Commenting on the MPC's overall assessment, the CBTT explained,
"The committee recognised that tremendous uncertainty characterised
expected geopolitical developments into 2023, while financial
markets remained unsettled. Domestically, business operations were
poised to rebound further, supported by bank credit and potentially
some of the additional fiscal space afforded to the Government from
higher energy prices. The MPC however noted with concern the rising
path of domestic inflation, albeit dominated in 2022 by external or
weather related shocks as well as the fuel subsidy reduction," the
report relays.

In this regard, the MPC has recommended that the central bank
prepare to "further employ other monetary tools . . . in addressing
the inflationary situation in a flexible manner," the report
discloses.

The CBTT will announce its next decision in the next 12 weeks, as
per the meeting of its MPC, the report adds.



===============
X X X X X X X X
===============

LATAM: Slowdown in Exports from Region Consolidates
---------------------------------------------------
The value of goods exports from Latin America and the Caribbean
increased at an estimated rate of 18.8% in 2022. The downward trend
in the region's external sales consolidated during this period,
after growing 27.8% in 2021, according to a report by the
Inter-American Development Bank.

The region's export performance was mainly explained by higher
prices, while volumes lost momentum.

In the coming months, the export growth rate is expected to slow in
response to the downward trend in commodity prices, the war in
Ukraine, restrictive monetary policies to reduce inflation and the
slowdown in global growth, the latest edition of Trade Trends
Estimates: Latin America and the Caribbean has found.

"After a rapid recovery in 2021, a series of global shocks have
sent exports from Latin America and the Caribbean into a slowdown
that will continue into 2023. Reversing this trend will be key to
shoring up economic growth in the region," said Paolo Giordano,
Principal Economist at the IDB's Integration and Trade Sector, who
coordinated the publication.

The region's external sales were driven by shipments to the United
States, which are estimated to have grown by 21.3% in 2022. Demand
from the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean's major trading
partners slowed dramatically compared to 2021. Sales grew by 2% to
China, 14% to the European Union, and 25.6% to Latin America and
the Caribbean.

                          Export Prices

In 2022, the prices of most commodities exported by Latin America
and the Caribbean climbed. Between January and November 2022, the
year-on-year prices of oil (43%), coffee (29.1%), soybeans (13%)
and sugar (5.5%) all increased. In contrast, the prices of iron ore
and copper fell by 28.9% and 4.9% year-on-year, respectively.

According to the report, the shock caused by the Russian invasion
of Ukraine "further increased the prices of LAC's main export
commodities." However, "in most countries, the uptrend changed
direction in the middle of the year in response to slowing global
demand, forecasts of low growth, and the appreciation of the US
dollar."

                  Performance by Subregion

Exports are estimated to have grown by 18.2% in South America in
2022 after increasing by 36% in 2021. The upturn in commodity
prices explained much of this performance, which benefited from the
dynamism of intraregional trade and was particularly hard hit by
the cooling of demand from China.

Exports from Mesoamerica increased by an estimated 18.8%
year-on-year in 2022 after growing by 19.4% in 2021. Unlike the
rest of the region, Mexico experienced a continuous increase in its
export growth rate throughout the year due to the rise in volumes
shipped to the United States. Although exports from Central America
slowed significantly in 2022 in comparison with 2021 (26.6%), they
nonetheless grew by 13.6%, boosted by demand from within the region
and the United States.

Exports from the Caribbean rose by an estimated 38% in 2022 after
growing by 44.4% in 2021. The United States accounted for most of
the increase, followed by the European Union.

                            Export Growth

Latin America and the Caribbean's total imports increased at an
estimated rate of 26.3% in 2022, after growing by 37.4% in 2021.

The report was prepared by the IDB's Integration and Trade Sector
and its Institute for the Integration of Latin America and the
Caribbean (INTAL).




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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
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Chapman, Editors.

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