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

          Friday, January 27, 2023, Vol. 24, No. 21

                           Headlines



A R G E N T I N A

ARGENTINA: Moody's Tags $1BB Bond Buyback Plan a Default


B R A Z I L

AMERICANAS SA: $4BB Scandal Exposes Risks in Supplier Finance
AMERICANAS SA: Chapter 15 Case Summary
AMERICANAS SA: Files for Chapter 15 Bankruptcy to Protect Assets
AMERICANAS SA: Owes Creditors $8 Billion, Brazil Court Finds
INVEPAR: S&P Lowers ICR to 'CCC' on Higher Liquidity Risks



M E X I C O

MEXARREND SAPI: S&P Lowers Rating on Senior Unsecured Notes to 'D'


P A R A G U A Y

FRIGORIFICO CONCEPCION: S&P Affirms 'B' ICR Amid Missed Targets


V E N E Z U E L A

VENEZUELA: Inflation Hits 234% in 2022, VP Rodriguez Says

                           - - - - -


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A R G E N T I N A
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ARGENTINA: Moody's Tags $1BB Bond Buyback Plan a Default
--------------------------------------------------------
Scott Squires of Bloomberg News relates that Moody's Investors
Service has said Argentina's plan to repurchase $1 billion of
overseas bonds meets the definition for a default.

Bloomberg relays that Moody's sees the nation's strategy of buying
back short-dated dollar bonds - primarily those due in 2029 and
2030 - through direct market purchases as tantamount to a
"distressed exchange and hence a default under our definition,"
Moody's analysts including Jaime Reusche wrote in a note.

Moody's still scores Argentina at Ca, the second-lowest rating.  It
has a stable outlook on the nation.

"The operation comes at the cost of scarce foreign currency that is
pressuring the country's external finances, while doing little to
support the sovereign's repayment capacity in 2024 and beyond," the
Moody's analysts wrote on Jan. 24, Bloomberg cites.  "Government
authorities have not specified how much of the $1 billion will be
allocated to purchases of each bond, nor the target date of when
the buyback process will cease."

While the plan sparked confusion among investors who pointed out
the government's limited funds, it also triggered a jump in the
nation's dollar bonds.  That leaves some on Wall Street skeptical
of a default designation, Bloomberg says.

"The IMF has been consulted by Argentina and seems to have given a
green light for the buyback," said Stuart Sclater-Booth, a
portfolio manager at Stone Harbor Investment Partners in New York,
Bloomberg reports.  "There is no coercion at all on the part of
Argentina, and other sovereign credits -- such as El Salvador --
have bought back their debt to good effect."

S&P Global ratings does not classify the exchange as distressed
because the government is unlikely to default on the bonds in the
coming months, according to a Jan. 20 report written by analysts
including Lisa Schineller, Bloomberg relates.

"While participating bondholders would receive less than originally
promised, at current and expected bond prices under our
methodology, we don't consider this transaction to be a distressed
exchange," Schineller wrote.  "Absent participation, we don't
believe this would lead to a conventional default on these bonds."

                     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.

S&P Global Ratings, on Jan. 20, 2023, affirmed its 'CCC+/C' foreign
currency and 'CCC-/C' local currency sovereign credit ratings on
Argentina. The outlook on the long-term ratings remains negative.
S&P's 'CCC+' transfer and convertibility assessment is unchanged.
The negative outlook on the long-term ratings reflects risks
surrounding pronounced economic imbalances and policy uncertainties
before and after the 2023 national elections.  Global capital
markets are closed to Argentina.  Moreover, disagreement within the
government coalition and infighting among the opposition constrains
the sovereign's ability to implement timely changes in economic
policy.

Fitch Ratings, on the other hand, downgraded in October 2022
Argentina's Long-Term Foreign-Currency (FC) and Local-Currency (LC)
Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to 'CCC-' from 'CCC'.  The downgrade
reflects deep macroeconomic imbalances and a highly constrained
external liquidity position, which Fitch expects to increasingly
undermine repayment capacity as foreign-currency debt service ramps
up in the coming years.

Moody's Investors Service, in September 2022, affirmed Argentina's
Ca foreign-currency and local-currency long-term issuer and senior
unsecured ratings.  The outlook remains stable.  The decision to
affirm the Ca ratings balances Argentina's limited market access,
weak governance, and history of recurrent debt restructurings with
recent efforts to marshal fiscal and monetary measures to start
addressing underlying macroeconomic imbalances in the context of
the IMF program that was approved in 2022, according to Moody's.

DBRS 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 R A Z I L
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AMERICANAS SA: $4BB Scandal Exposes Risks in Supplier Finance
-------------------------------------------------------------
Bloomberg Law relates that the accounting scandal that led to a $4
billion hole in the balance sheet of major Brazilian retailer
Americanas SA centers on a common funding tool with notoriously
opaque reporting: supplier finance.

Americanas, which nosedived into bankruptcy protection last week,
is an extreme example of how the arcane practice, also called
supply-chain finance or reverse factoring, can take advantage of
loose accounting rules to flatter a company's balance sheet,
Bloomberg relays.  The process involves a bank or third party
paying a buyer's suppliers at a discount earlier than they would be
otherwise.

According to Bloomberg, Americanas hasn't revealed much detail of
how it used supplier financing to mask its indebtedness, and its
financial statements offer few clues.  The company did not return
multiple requests for comment.  But what's clear is that the
practice played at least some part in masking more than 20 billion
reais (US$3.9 billion) of debt.

Regulators, credit rating providers, and some investors have warned
for years about the lack of accounting rules for these
supplier-finance arrangements.  Companies following US-based
accounting rules must start disclosing this year that they use the
financing, adds the report.

                    About Americanas SA

Americanas was one of the largest diversified retail chains in
Brazil, with a wide platform of physical stores, robust e-commerce,
fintech, and has just entered into the niche food retail. It is
listed on B3, being indirectly controlled by Jorge Paulo Lemann,
Carlos Alberto Sicupira and Marcel Telles.

Americanas sought protection under Chapter 15 of the U.S.
Bankruptcy Code (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case No. 23-10092) on January 25,
2023.


AMERICANAS SA: Chapter 15 Case Summary
--------------------------------------
Chapter 15 Debtor:        Americanas S.A.
                          Rua Sacadura Cabral, No. 102, Saude
                          Rio de Janeiro, RJ
                          Brazil

Type of Business:         The Debtor is a Brazilian retail chain.

Foreign Proceeding:       Brazilian RJ Proceeding (case number
                          0803087-20.2023.8.19.0001) pending
                          before the 4th Business Court of Rio de
                          Janeiro

Chapter 15 Petition Date: January 25, 2023

Court:                    United States Bankruptcy Court
                          Southern District of New York

Case No.:                 23-10092

Judge:                    Hon. Michael E. Wiles

Foreign Representative:   Antonio Reinaldo Rabelo Filho
                          Rua Barao da Torre, 550, Apt. 201
                          Ipanema
                          Rio de Janeiro, RJ
                          Brazil

Foreign
Representative's
Counsel:                  John K. Cunningham, Esq.
                          WHITE & CASE LLP
                          1221 Avenue of the Americas
                          New York, NY 10020
                          Tel: (212) 819-8200
                          Email: jcunningham@whitecase.com

Estimated Assets:         Unknown

Estimated Debt:           Unknown

A full-text copy of the Chapter 15 petition is available for free
at PacerMonitor.com at https://bit.ly/3DitYsH


AMERICANAS SA: Files for Chapter 15 Bankruptcy to Protect Assets
----------------------------------------------------------------
Amelia Pollard of Bloomberg News reports that Brazilian shopping
chain Americanas SA filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy, a move that
protects its US assets while insolvency proceedings play out in its
home country.

Representatives for Americanas filed the bankruptcy petition in
Manhattan on Wednesday, January 25, court papers show, according to
Bloomberg.  Chapter 15 bankruptcy filings stop creditors from
seizing a company’s assets in the US.

Bloomberg notes that the retailer nosedived in January after
becoming mired in an accounting scandal. The firm, backed by
billionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann, filed for bankruptcy at a court in
Rio de Janeiro on Jan. 19.

In disclosures to investors, the firm implied it misreported
numbers connected to some of its financing and wrongly deducted
interest paid to lenders from its liabilities, Bloomberg relays.
In all, there were nearly $4 billion of accounting
"inconsistencies," according to a regulatory filing.

The case is Americanas S.A. and Americanas S.A., 23-10092, U.S.
Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York
(Manhattan).

                    About Americanas SA

Americanas was one of the largest diversified retail chains in
Brazil, with a wide platform of physical stores, robust e-commerce,
fintech, and has just entered into the niche food retail. It is
listed on B3, being indirectly controlled by Jorge Paulo Lemann,
Carlos Alberto Sicupira and Marcel Telles.

Americanas sought protection under Chapter 15 of the U.S.
Bankruptcy Code (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case No. 23-10092) on January 25,
2023.


AMERICANAS SA: Owes Creditors $8 Billion, Brazil Court Finds
------------------------------------------------------------
Gabriel Araujo at Reuters reports that Brazilian retailer
Americanas SA owes a variety of creditors around $8 billion, a Rio
de Janeiro court said on Wednesday, Jan. 25, providing the most
detailed picture yet of the exposure of banks and other groups to
the company's bankruptcy.

Americanas, backed by the billionaire trio that founded investment
firm 3G Capital, entered bankruptcy protection in Brazil last week
after disclosing "inconsistencies" in its accounting, leading top
investors such as BlackRock and Capital Group to scale back their
positions in the firm.

The list provided on Wednesday includes roughly BRL41.2 billion
($8.1 billion) in debt, according to the court, which initially did
not disclose the names of the creditors, Reuters relays.

Later, Americanas revealed the full list of 7,720 creditors in a
securities filing, ranging from small debts with individuals and
cities to multi-billion-reais debts with banks, the report notes.

Deutsche Bank topped the list of creditors disclosed by Americanas
with $1 billion, but the German lender later said it had no
exposure to the retailer and would not be affected by its
bankruptcy,

"Deutsche Bank is not affected as it neither has a lending
relationship nor any credit exposure to the company in question,"
it said in an emailed statement, Reuters says.

A source familiar with the situation said Deutsche Bank instead
acted as trustee for two bonds of $500 million each guaranteed by
Americanas.

Brazilian banks BTG Pactual, Bradesco and Santander Brasil - which
analysts previously said were among the most exposed - were also
listed, with debts of more than BRL3.5 billion each, Reuters points
out.

Santander has appealed the bankruptcy protection and Bradesco is
planning on filing an international lawsuit against Americanas,
Reuters reported.  On Tuesday, Jan. 24, a judge suspended a
previous decision that would have allowed BTG to protect BRL1.2
billion that Americanas had in an account with that bank.  However,
the decision was later reviewed by a federal court on Wednesday.

The lenders did not immediately respond to requests for comment
after the list of creditors went public.

Americanas has also sought protection under Chapter 15 of the U.S.
bankruptcy code on Wednesday, Jan. 25, a move that would help the
company protect its U.S. assets from creditors and allow it to seek
U.S. court recognition of its Brazilian restructuring.

Shares in Americanas were up 20% to 0.96 real on Wednesday, Jan.
25, but are still down roughly 90% year-to-date, according to
Reuters.

                    About Americanas SA

Americanas was one of the largest diversified retail chains in
Brazil, with a wide platform of physical stores, robust e-commerce,
fintech, and has just entered into the niche food retail. It is
listed on B3, being indirectly controlled by Jorge Paulo Lemann,
Carlos Alberto Sicupira and Marcel Telles.

Americanas sought protection under Chapter 15 of the U.S.
Bankruptcy Code (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case No. 23-10092) on January 25,
2023.


INVEPAR: S&P Lowers ICR to 'CCC' on Higher Liquidity Risks
----------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings lowered its global scale issuer credit rating on
Brazil-based transportation infrastructure group Investimentos e
Participacoes em Infraestrutura S.A. – Invepar (Invepar) to 'CCC'
from 'CCC+' and the national scale rating to 'brB-' from 'brBB'.
S&P also lowered the issue-level ratings on Invepar's third and
fifth debentures to 'brCCC' from 'brB+', and kept the recovery
rating at '6'.

The negative outlook on Invepar incorporates the risk that the
reauction of Via 040 won't conclude before the maturity of its debt
in October 2023, which ultimately could result in debt
acceleration.

Invepar faces significant maturities in the next few years,
including Via 040's R$978 million debt due in October 2023, which
Invepar guarantees, and R$960 million in August 2024 from the third
and fifth debenture issuances at the holding level.

In order to pay these maturities, Invepar has to rely on favorable
conditions of two events that are outside its control:

-- A successful conclusion of Via 040's reauction process by
August 2023 or an extension of the amendment contract to reauction
the concession, which depends on Brazil's Federal Audit Court
(TCU)'s approval. The concession was auctioned in 2013. Given
negative operational and financial conditions, Invepar adhered in
2017 to a newly enacted law to terminate this concession. S&P said,
"We expect the conclusion to give right to indemnities in favor of
Via 040 for the investments already made, and that the group would
use the proceeds to pay down Via 040's debt. In our view, there are
two main risks related to this process. The first is that if the
reauction process is further delayed beyond the end of Via 040's
debt tenor in October 2023, it could result in an event of default
of the company's debt if lenders don't provide a waiver." The
second is that assuming the reauction concludes, if indemnities
related to the concession's termination are lower than we expect,
they wouldn't be enough to cover Via 040's debt. In this scenario,
Invepar would have to inject some of its own cash position.

-- A favorable conclusion of Lamsa's judicial dispute with the
municipality of Rio de Janeiro, which has been ongoing since Sept.
17, 2020. Despite recent outcomes in favor of LAMSA that suspended
the concession termination and allowed the company to operate for
additional 15 years, the discussions might continue for several
months because there will be new conciliation hearings to define
the fair value of the toll tariffs, and the parties might appeal.
This dispute could continue throughout 2023. This would increase
liquidity risks for Invepar because the conclusion of the debt
restructuring agreed to with its creditors entails transferring
Invepar's ownership in Lamsa in exchange for the debt payment at
the holding level, which is due in August 2024.

-- Invepar ended the third quarter of 2022 with cash balances of
R$303 million, which is enough to cover the holding's expenses for
the next 12 months, which are between R$30 million and R$40 million
annually, limited to headcount and administrative expenses.
Nevertheless, the holding doesn't generate cash flows and its
subsidiaries have been distributing limited cash dividends, either
due to accumulated losses at the subsidiaries' level, still poor
operating performance due to pandemic, or because they have
restrictions on doing so. As a result, if any of its subsidiaries
requires a cash injection, it would consume the holding's cash
balance, further worsening the group's liquidity, which is already
under pressure.

ESG credit indicators: E-2, S-3, G-5




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M E X I C O
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MEXARREND SAPI: S&P Lowers Rating on Senior Unsecured Notes to 'D'
------------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings lowered its issue-level rating on the
Mexico-based nonbank financial institution Mexarrend S.A.P.I. de
C.V.'s international senior unsecured notes to 'D' from 'CC'. S&P
also maintained its 'D' issuer credit rating.

S&P said, "We lowered the issue-level rating on the lender's senior
unsecured notes to 'D' because the lender didn't honor the interest
payment on Jan. 24, 2023. Additionally, based on the company's
announcement, we don't expect these interest payments to occur
within the applicable grace periods. Mexarrend announced that it
won't honor its upcoming financial obligations and wouldn't make
the interest and principal payments on its 2024 senior unsecured
notes. The lender also announced that it will initiate conversation
with the short-term debtholders and senior bondholders to address
liquidity constraints."

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) credit factors for this
change in credit rating/outlook and/or CreditWatch status:

-- Risk management, culture, and oversight
-- Transparency and reporting




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P A R A G U A Y
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FRIGORIFICO CONCEPCION: S&P Affirms 'B' ICR Amid Missed Targets
---------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings revised the outlook on Paraguayan
protein-processing company Frigorifico Concepcion S.A. (Concepcion)
to stable from positive and affirmed its 'B' issuer credit and
issue-level ratings.

The stable outlook reflects S&P's belief that Concepcion will post
EBITDA margins of about 9% and debt to EBITDA close to 3.5x in 2023
while incorporating and ramping up the recently acquired facilities
and expanding its operations.

During 2021 and 2022, Frigorifico acquired a pork processing plant
in Paraguay, and four beef processing and two pork processing
plants in Brazil, and it has opened its second beef processing
plant in Bolivia. In addition, the company is constructing a
state-of-the-art casing processing plant in Paraguay. The
acquisitions widened the company's business diversification and
slaughtering capacity from around 850,000 heads to about 2.3
million. S&P said, "Given these acquisitions, we were previously
expecting EBITDA to jump to $137 million in 2022 from $65 million
in 2021 and rise to about $146 million in 2023. Although EBITDA is
increasing along with higher production and prices, we now expect
EBITDA of about $120 million in 2023, up from about $105 million in
2022. At the same time, we trimmed our EBITDA margin forecast to
about 9% in 2023 from our previous expectation of 12%-13%. The
ramp-up of the recently acquired facilities and efficiency
improvements will take some time, and we expect the Brazilian
business to weigh on consolidated margins in the medium term.
Additionally, Concepcion has been facing cost inflation,
particularly in cattle prices and shipping costs. Therefore, the
company's growth and efficiency are rising at a
slower-than-expected pace, delaying our revision of our assessment
of the business risk profile to a stronger category. In the next
two years, the ramp-up of the acquired facilities and exports,
along with the diversification into the casing business could raise
margins, but we now expect them to remain below 10%."

S&P said, "Larger sales volumes are increasing working capital
needs. We estimate them to be about $150 million in 2022 and $45
million in 2023, denting the company's liquidity and slowing its
deleveraging. We expect leverage to drop to 3.5x in 2023 from 3.8x
in 2022, which is higher than our previous expectation of 2.5x this
year. This leaves Concepcion with a tighter cushion to withstand
the industry downturns."

More specifically, on international trade arrangements and
policies. Concepcion can further expand its slaughtering capacity
and it should benefit from ample cattle availability in Paraguay
and Bolivia for the next two years. Currently, the Paraguayan and
U.S. governments are negotiating to resume beef exports to the U.S.
If this occurs, Concepcion could enter a large market and increase
its production and sales. The company could also expand its
slaughtering volumes if the Bolivian government increases export
quotas that would elevate the company's plant utilization above
current ratio of about 65%.

ESG credit indicators: E-3, S-2, G-3




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V E N E Z U E L A
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VENEZUELA: Inflation Hits 234% in 2022, VP Rodriguez Says
---------------------------------------------------------
Mayela Armas of Reuters reports that Vice President Delcy Rodriguez
said on Jan. 23 that inflation in Venezuela hit 234% in 2022.  This
represents a slowdown from the previous year, as the South American
country struggles with a deep and lengthy economic crisis, Reuters
notes.

Reuters relays that Rodriguez provided the inflation rate during a
meeting with Turkish and Venezuelan business leaders.  Venezuela's
central bank infrequently publishes economic data, and has not
given inflation data since October.

For months, socialist President Nicolas Maduro and his government
was able to keep a lid on consumer price inflation with rigid
economic policies, including anchoring the exchange rate, limiting
public spending and increasing taxes, Reuters cites.

But the strategy has shown cracks since November, sources have told
Reuters, with prices rising quickly as the country's bolivar
currency depreciates against the U.S. dollar.

Government spending has also sped up and demand for dollars is
outpacing the central bank's foreign currency reserves, Reuters
cites.

A group of economists said earlier this month that Venezuela was at
risk of reentering a period of hyperinflation.

Inflation in 2021 was more than 686%, according to the country's
central bank, Reuters relays.

                        About 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.

Standard & Poor's credit rating for Venezuela stands at N/A with
n/a outlook. Fitch's credit rating for Venezuela was last reported
at RD with n/a outlook.

In September 2021, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its 'SD/D' foreign
currency sovereign credit ratings and 'CCC-/C' local currency
ratings on Venezuela due to lack of sufficient information.
Moody's credit rating for Venezuela was last set at C in May 2018
with stable outlook.  Fitch withdrew its ratings on Venezuela in
June 2019.  



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