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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

          Monday, October 9, 2023, Vol. 24, No. 202

                           Headlines



A R G E N T I N A

ARGENTINA: Argentina Central Bank to Hold Interest Rate at 118%
BLOCKFI INC: FTX Slashes $5 Billion in Claims to $500 Million


B A H A M A S

FTX GROUP: Lawyers Says Opposite of Bankman-Fried's Claims


B R A Z I L

UNIGEL PARTICIPACOES: Fitch Cuts LongTerm IDRs to 'C'


C O L O M B I A

BANCO AGRARIO: Fitch Affirms 'BB+' LongTerm IDR, Outlook Stable
BANCOLDEX: Fitch Affirms 'BB+' LongTerm IDRs, Outlook Stable
FINANCIERA DE DESARROLLO NACIONAL: Fitch Affirms 'BB+' IDRs
FINDETER: Fitch Affirms 'BB+' LongTerm IDRs, Outlook Stable


D O M I N I C A N   R E P U B L I C

COOP-HERRERA: Scammed Victims Demand Their Money Back
[*] DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Suriname Has Opportunity in Oil Investment


J A M A I C A

JAMAICA: Gets World Bank Credits for Fiscal Mgmt., Debt Reduction


M E X I C O

FINANCIERA INDEPENDENCIA: Fitch Cuts IDRs to B+, On Watch Negative


P E R U

PERU LNG: Fitch Lowers LongTerm IDRs to 'B', Outlook Negative
VOLCAN COMPANIA: Fitch Cuts LongTerm IDRs to B-, On Watch Negative


T R I N I D A D   A N D   T O B A G O

CARIBBEAN AIRLINES: Imbert's Airline Plan Incenses Antigua


X X X X X X X X

[*] BOND PRICING COLUMN: For the Week Oct. 2 to Oct. 6, 2023

                           - - - - -


=================
A R G E N T I N A
=================

ARGENTINA: Argentina Central Bank to Hold Interest Rate at 118%
---------------------------------------------------------------
globalinsolvency.com, citing Reuters, reports that Argentina's
central bank was set to leave its interest rate unchanged at 118%
at the directors meeting scheduled for Oct. 5, an official source
at the bank said.  Argentina is struggling to tamp down on
triple-digit inflation as presidential elections loom just several
weeks away, according to globalinsolvency.com.  The central bank
held the rate at 118% last month after raising it from 97% in the
aftermath of a shock primary election which saw radical libertarian
Javier Milei become the favorite to win the presidency this month,
the report notes.

Annual inflation is running at 124%. Bonds are sliding and the peso
has slumped to record lows, sitting around 840 per dollar on the
popular black market -- which reflects the local currency's true
value while the official peso is frozen at 350 per dollar, the
report relays.  With less than three weeks to the Oct. 22 vote,
Milei -- who has pledged to shutter the central bank and dollarize
the economy- leads the polls, the report discloses.  He will stand
against Economy Minister Sergio Massa and ex-security minister
Patricia Bullrich, 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.

The IMF's executive board completed on August 23, 2023, the fifth
and six reviews of Argentina's 30-month Extended Fund Facility
(EFF), and approved a US$7.5-billion disbursement to Argentina as
part of the larger program, which refinances payments Argentina
owes the institution from a previous bailout that failed to
stabilize the economy in 2018. Argentina would receive another IMF
disbursement in November of about US$2.75 billion pending another
staff-level agreement and board approval.

S&P Global Ratings, on June 13, 2023, raised its local currency
sovereign credit ratings on Argentina to 'CCC-/C' from 'SD/SD' and
its national scale rating to 'raCCC+' from 'SD'. S&P also affirmed
its 'CCC-/C' foreign currency sovereign credit ratings on
Argentina. The outlook on the long-term ratings is negative. S&P's
'CCC-' transfer and convertibility assessment is unchanged. None of
its rated bond issues are affected.

S&P said the negative outlook on the long-term ratings is based on
the risks surrounding pronounced economic imbalances and policy
uncertainties before and after the 2023 national elections.
Divisions within the government coalition, and infighting among the
opposition, constrain the sovereign's ability to implement timely
changes in economic policy.

Fitch Ratings also upgraded on June 13, 2023, Argentina's Long-Term
Foreign Currency (FC) Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'CC' from 'C'
and affirmed the Long-Term Local Currency (LC) IDR at 'CCC-'. Fitch
typically does not assign Outlooks to sovereigns with a rating of
'CCC+' or below.

The upgrade of the FC IDR reflects that Fitch no longer deems a
default-like process to have begun, as the authorities have not
signaled a clear intention to follow through with an intra-public
debt swap announced in March. The new 'CC' rating signals a default
event of some sort appears probable in the coming years,
regardless of the outcome of upcoming elections. The affirmation
of
the LC IDR at 'CCC-' follows the peso debt swap in June that Fitch
did not deem to be a "distressed debt exchange" (DDE).

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, Inc. confirmed Argentina's Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer
Rating at CCC and downgraded its Long-Term Local Currency Issuer
Rating to CCC from CCC (high) on March 3, 2023.


BLOCKFI INC: FTX Slashes $5 Billion in Claims to $500 Million
-------------------------------------------------------------
Hilary Russ of Law360 reports that bankrupt cryptocurrency lender
BlockFi has been negotiating with fellow bankrupt crypto fintech
firms FTX and Three Arrows Capital over the size of their potential
claims, reducing FTX's roughly $5 billion of asserted claims to
less than $500 million so far, attorneys said in a New Jersey
bankruptcy court Wednesday, September 20, 2023.

                        About BlockFi Inc.

BlockFi is building a bridge between digital assets and traditional
financial and wealth management products to advance the overall
digital asset ecosystem for individual and institutional
investors.

BlockFi was founded in 2017 by Zac Prince and Flori Marquez and in
its early days had backing from influential Wall Street investors
like Mike Novogratz and, later on, Valar Ventures, a Peter
Thiel-backed venture fund as well as Winklevoss Capital, among
others.  BlockFi made waves in 2019 when it began providing
interest-bearing accounts with returns paid in Bitcoin and Ether,
with its program attracting millions of dollars in deposits right
away.

BlockFi grew during the pandemic years and had offices in New York,
New Jersey, Singapore, Poland and Argentina.

BlockFi worked with FTX US after it took an $80 million hit from
the bad debt of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, which
imploded after the TerraUSD stablecoin wipeout in May 2022.

BlockFi had significant exposure to the companies founded by former
FTX Chief Executive Officer Sam Bankman-Fried.  BlockFi received a
$400 million credit line from FTX US in an agreement that also gave
FTX the option to acquire BlockFi through a bailout orchestrated by
Bankman-Fried over the summer.  BlockFi also had collateralized
loans to Alameda Research, the trading firm co-founded by
Bankman-Fried.

BlockFi is the latest crypto firm to seek bankruptcy amid a
prolonged slump in digital asset prices. Lenders Celsius Network
LLC and Voyager Digital Holdings Inc. also filed for court
protection this year.  Kirkland & Ellis is also advising Celsius
and Voyager in their separate Chapter 11 cases.

BlockFi Inc. and eight affiliates sought protection under Chapter
11 of the Bankruptcy Code (Bankr. D.N.J. Lead Case No. 22-19361) on
Nov. 28, 2022. In the petitions signed by their chief executive
officer, Zachary Prince, the Debtors reported $1 billion to $10
billion in both assets and liabilities.

Judge Michael B. Kaplan oversees the cases.

The Debtors taped Kirkland & Ellis and Haynes and Boone, LLP as
general bankruptcy counsels; Walkers (Bermuda) Limited as special
Bermuda counsel; Cole Schotz, P.C., as local counsel; Berkeley
Research Group, LLC as financial advisor; Moelis & Company as
investment banker; and Street Advisory Group, LLC, as strategic and
communications advisor.  Kroll Restructuring Administration, LLC,
is the notice and claims agent.




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

FTX GROUP: Lawyers Says Opposite of Bankman-Fried's Claims
----------------------------------------------------------
Luc Cohen and Jody Godoy at Reuters report that in his opening
statement at Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud trial, the FTX
cryptocurrency exchange founder's lawyer acknowledged that his
client was in a risky business, noting that "crypto was not for
everyone."

But FTX had asserted the opposite in an online post about a car
race it sponsored in Miami Beach, Florida, six months before its
November 2022 collapse, according to Reuters.

"Crypto is for everyone, as should be motor sports," FTX posted on
May 13, 2022 on its official account on Twitter, alongside a video
showing racing cars, bartenders pouring cocktails, and retired
basketball star Shaquille O'Neal giving high-fives, the report
notes.

At Bankman-Fried's trial, prosecutors played for the jury FTX video
advertisements in which a narrator said, "we're inviting everyone
in," as well as spots featuring NFL quarterback Tom Brady and
comedian Larry David, the report relays.

Bankman-Fried, 31, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud
and five counts of conspiracy over the collapse of FTX, the report
discloses.  Prosecutors said in opening statements that he stole
$10 billion in customer funds to buy luxury real estate, donate to
U.S. political candidates and plug losses at his hedge fund, the
report notes.

FTX's marketing to retail investors to try to broaden the appeal of
cryptocurrency, once a niche asset class, could be a key issue in
the trial, the report says.

Prosecutor Thane Rehn said FTX's commercials promoted the exchange
as trustworthy - even while Bankman-Fried was allegedly stealing
deposits, the report discloses.  Rehn said the recruitment of
additional customers helped FTX meet demands from others to
withdraw their money, masking the theft for a time, the report
says.

Mark Cohen, Bankman-Fried's lawyer, said his client never intended
to steal funds. His opening statement portrayed Bankman-Fried as an
ambitious entrepreneur who "overlooked" key business functions like
risk management as FTX grew rapidly during a boom in the values of
digital assets, the report relays.

"You will learn that crypto was not for everyone. On the one hand,
it was new and exciting," Cohen said, addressing the jury. "But on
the other hand, many factors that nobody controlled could make
crypto go up and down in value. So too crypto companies themselves
could rise and fall very quickly," the report notes.

Cohen also said, "it's not a crime to try to get Tom Brady to come
on ads for your company," the report relays.

A spokesman for Bankman-Fried did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.

The video about the car race, dubbed FTX Off the Grid, harks back
to the boom times in crypto before rising interest rates led to a
sell-off in tokens like bitcoin, the report notes.  It shows women
in swimsuits posing on a beach with a mascot for the Miami Heat
basketball team and a crowd dancing at a concert featuring smoke
and flashing lights, the report discloses.

FTX's celebrity promoters including O'Neal, Brady and David were
sued over claims they engaged in deceptive practices, the report
says.  The celebrities have said the lawsuit should be dismissed,
arguing they did not cause FTX investors' losses, the report adds.

                      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, 2022, 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

The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors tapped Paul Hastings
as counsel, FTI Consulting, Inc., as financial advisor, and
Jefferies LLC as the investment banker. Young Conaway Stargatt &
Taylor LLP is the Committee's Delaware and conflicts counsel.

Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP, led by partners Gregory
T. Donilon, Edward L. Schnitzer, and David M. Banker, is
representing Sam Bankman-Fried in the Chapter 11 cases.

White-collar crime specialist Mark S. Cohen has reportedly been
hired to represent SBF in litigation. Lawyers at Paul Weiss
previously represented SBF but later renounced representing the
entrepreneur due to a conflict of interest.




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

UNIGEL PARTICIPACOES: Fitch Cuts LongTerm IDRs to 'C'
-----------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Unigel Participacoes S.A.'s (Unigel)
Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs)
to 'C' from 'CCC' and Long-Term National Scale Rating to 'C(bra)'
from 'CCC(bra)'. Fitch has also downgraded the rating on Unigel
Luxembourg S.A.'s senior unsecured bond due 2026 to 'C'/'RR4' from
'CCC'/'RR4'.

The downgrades follow Unigel's failure to pay a coupon on its
USD420 million bond due 2026, which was due on Oct. 2, 2023. The
'C' rating is in line with Fitch's rating definition for an issuer
that has entered into a grace period following non-payment of a
material financial obligation. Fitch believes that is highly
unlikely that Unigel will receive support from its shareholder or
sell its assets in a time frame that would support its liquidity.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Missed Bond Coupon Payment: Unigel did not pay a coupon due on Oct.
2, 2023 and entered the grace period. The company has a 30-day
grace period to pay the interest before an event of default is
triggered.

Bond Repayment Uncertain: Unigel is still considering a potential
debt restructuring in the midst of a challenging market conditions.
Without additional funds, the company will need some combination of
asset sales, an equity injection from its shareholder or a
renegotiation of its natural gas supply contracts.

Fitch believes that the engagement of Moelis, which has been an
advisor for several companies that have restructured debt in
Brazil, materially reduces the creditors' willingness to provide
new financings to the group to cover its 2023 and 2024 funding
needs.

Elevated Leverage; Covenant Breach: Fitch understands that Unigel
violated its maintenance covenant on its debentures of 3.5x net
leverage in the second quarter of 2023 and has reached an agreement
with debenture holders such that its debt is not accelerated.
Unigel's financial performance is the result of deteriorating
market conditions in both the chemical and agro segments. EBITDA in
these segments decreased to BRL104 million (~USD21 million USD) in
1Q23 from BRL568 million in 1Q22 and BRL226 million in 4Q22 due to
weak prices and higher feedstock prices.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Unigel's ratings reflect the non-payment of the bond interest and
its entry into the 30-day grace period.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

- Resolution of the missed interest payment for the 2026 bond
within the grace period.

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

- Failure to pay coupon within the grace period would result in a
downgrade to 'RD'.

- Filing for bankruptcy protection would result in a downgrade to
'D'.

ISSUER PROFILE

Unigel is a medium-size chemical producer operating in the
midstream of the petrochemical industry value chain (acrylics and
styrenics), with facilities in Brazil and Mexico.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Unigel Participacoes S.A. has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for
Governance Structure due to ownership concentration and key person
risk, which has a negative impact on the credit profile, and is
relevant to the rating[s] in conjunction with other factors.

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' 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. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt                Rating          Recovery   Prior
   -----------                ------          --------   -----
Unigel Luxembourg S.A.

   senior
   unsecured         LT        C    Downgrade    RR4     CCC

Unigel
Participacoes S.A.   LT IDR    C     Downgrade           CCC

                     LC LT IDR C     Downgrade           CCC

                     Natl LT   C(bra)Downgrade           CCC(bra)




===============
C O L O M B I A
===============

BANCO AGRARIO: Fitch Affirms 'BB+' LongTerm IDR, Outlook Stable
---------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Banco Agrario de Colombia S.A.'s
(Agrario) Long-Term (LT) Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default
Ratings (IDRs) at 'BB+' with a Stable Rating Outlook.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

IDR, GSR and VR

Support Driven IDRs: Agrario's IDRs are driven by its Government
Support Rating (GSR) of 'bb+', which reflects Fitch's assessment of
the propensity and ability of support from the bank's sole
shareholder, the Colombian government (BB+/Stable), if needed. The
Stable Outlook on Agrario's IDRs mirrors the Outlook on Colombia's
IDRs. The bank's assigned Viability Rating (VR) is in line with its
implied VR based on its business, risk and financial profile.

Important Policy Role: The Colombian government does not explicitly
guarantee Agrario's liabilities, nevertheless, its key policy role
in the development of the agricultural sector results in an
equalization of its GSR with the sovereign's LT IDR of 'BB+'. The
GSR also reflects a moderate probability of support being
forthcoming because of uncertainties about the ability or
propensity of Colombia due to its speculative-grade IDR, should it
be needed.

Deteriorated Asset Quality: The 90-day NPL ratio deteriorated to
6.9% at 1H23, from 6.0% at YE 2022, reflecting the bank's
microcredit exposure and weaker borrower payment capacity in an
unfavorable operating environment. Agrario's loan portfolio is
supported by its adequate loan loss allowances coverage of impaired
loans of 124.9% at 1H23. Fitch expects asset quality to deteriorate
further due to the effect of expected climate events like El Niño
weather pattern on the agricultural segment and decelerating
economic growth.

Solid Profitability: Agrario's operating profit to risk-weighted
assets (RWA) ratio remains high at 7.8% at 1H23 (YE 2022: 7.9%).
Solid profitability benefited from the higher interest income on
loans a result of interest rate hikes, which compensated for the
significant increase in loan impairment charges related to asset
quality deterioration and funding costs. This ratio also compares
favorably to the banking system level due to the bank's low
risk-weighted assets density. Fitch expects profitability to
decline slightly in 2023 due to higher credit costs but to remain
solid and commensurate to its rating category.

Adequate Capitalization: Agrario's common equity Tier 1 (CET1)
ratio declined to 16.2% at 1H23 from 17.0% at YE 2022, mainly
reflecting the increase in RWA. Fitch does not anticipate
significant pressure on capitalization metrics in 2023 and believes
capitalization will remain adequate, driven by moderate asset
growth and stable earnings. In Fitch's opinion, Agrario's capital
position is commensurate with its rating level and risk exposure
due to the Colombian government's support.

Sound Liquidity: Agrario's sound liquidity position is reflected in
its loans-to-deposit ratio of 93.9% at 1H23, which has improved as
core deposits grew by 9.5% during 1H23 and 3.4% in 2022.
Historically, customer deposits have covered almost two-thirds of
the bank's funding needs. Fitch expects liquidity to remain sound
as the bank benefits from an ample and stable deposit base and
access to local funds from other financial institutions.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade

- Agrario's GSR and IDRs could be downgraded if the sovereign
rating is downgraded;

- Agrario's GSR and IDRs could be downgraded if Fitch perceives a
decrease in the bank's policy role for the government, but this
scenario is unlikely over the medium term;

- The VR could be downgraded if a significant deterioration of the
bank's asset quality and/or profitability ratios result in a
sustained decrease in the CET1 ratio below 12%.

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade

- Agrario's GSR and IDRs could be upgraded in the event of a
similar action in Colombia's sovereign ratings, absent any change
in Fitch's view of the government's propensity to provide support
to this bank;

- The VR could be upgraded by the confluence of improvements in the
operating environment and asset quality that results in an
operating profit to RWA ratio consistently above 4.75%.

VR ADJUSTMENTS

Fitch has assigned an Earnings and Profitability score of 'bb+'
that is below the 'bbb' category implied score due to the following
adjustment reason: Earnings stability (negative).

PUBLIC RATINGS WITH CREDIT LINKAGE TO OTHER RATINGS

Banco Agrario's ratings are driven by Colombia's sovereign rating
(BB+/Stable).

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' 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. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt                      Rating           Prior
   -----------                      ------           -----
Banco Agrario
de Colombia S.A.   LT IDR             BB+  Affirmed   BB+
                   ST IDR             B    Affirmed   B
                   LC LT IDR          BB+  Affirmed   BB+
                   LC ST IDR          B    Affirmed   B
                   Viability          bb   Affirmed   bb
                   Government Support bb+  Affirmed   bb+


BANCOLDEX: Fitch Affirms 'BB+' LongTerm IDRs, Outlook Stable
------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Banco de Comercio Exterior de Colombia
S.A.'s (Bancoldex) Foreign and Local Currency Long-Term Issuer
Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'BB+'. The Rating Outlook is Stable.
Fitch has also affirmed Bancoldex's National ratings at 'AAA(col)'
and its subsidiary Fiduciaria Colombiana de Comercio Exterior
S.A.'s (Fiducoldex) National Scale ratings at 'AAA(col)'; Outlook
Stable.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Government Support Drives Ratings: Bancoldex's IDRs are driven by
its Government Support Rating (GSR), which is equalized with
Colombia's Long-Term IDR (BB+/Stable). The ratings reflect Fitch's
assessment of the Colombian government's high propensity and
ability to provide timely support to Bancoldex if needed. Fitch
also believes Bancoldex plays a prominent policy role, as it is an
integral arm of the state in implementing economic development
policies. The Bancoldex's National Ratings, which are at the
highest level in the ratings scale, are relative rankings of
creditworthiness within Colombia.

The entity also has many operational and financial synergies with
the public administration. The GSR indicates the minimum level to
which the entity's Long-Term IDRs could fall if Fitch does not
change its view on potential sovereign support.

Policy Bank Role: Bancoldex's ratings consider its high strategic
importance within Colombia for promoting SMEs, as well as large
commercial and corporate entities, improving competitiveness and
fostering foreign trade. Its primary activity as a development bank
is the provision of wholesale funds and guarantees to commercial
banks and other nonbank financial institutions, as well as direct
credit lines to SMEs and corporates for economic reactivation.

Aligned with the National Development Plan for the period
2022-2026, Bancoldex will grant resources to promote the "Popular
Economy" specifically credits with rediscount lines to Microfinance
and SMEs as well as more inclusive productive developments.

Development Role Explains Financial Performance: Bancoldex good
asset quality is aligned with its development bank model. Past due
loans (PDL) greater than 90 days increased to 2.9% as of June 2023,
because deterioration on the direct loan portfolio to SMEs.
Meanwhile asset quality of the second-floor operations remained
relatively stable and largely unchanged from year-end 2022.

Stable Financial Performance: Bancoldex's countercyclical role
underpinned loan growth and profitability. The development bank's
operating profit to risk-weighted assets (RWA) of 2.7% at June 2023
is close to its pre-pandemic levels of 2.8% (2018-2019) amid higher
interest rates environment, alternative funding lines, cost control
and lower impairment charges. Fitch believes Bancoldex's stable
financial performance is supported by lower credit costs and
operational expenses that offset narrow interest margins, as per
its social role.

Comfortable Capital Position: Bancoldex's capital benefits from
stable profit generation, high reserve levels and low asset
impairment, which help to offset modest levels of internal capital
generation and a high pay-out ratio. As of June 2023, its common
equity Tier 1 ratio (CET1) was 25.8% boosted by the 100%
capitalization of 2022 net income and lower business growth.

Diversifying Funding: Bancoldex has diversified its funding sources
through bond issuances, term deposits and credit lines with local
and international financial institutions. In terms of liquidity,
the bank maintains adequate liabilities coverage by maturity in
both local currency and U.S. dollars, benefiting from its liquid
investment portfolio.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade

- Bancoldex's GSR and IDRs could be downgraded if the sovereign
rating is downgraded.

- Bancoldex´s GSR, IDRs and National Scale ratings could also be
downgraded if Fitch perceives a decrease in the bank's policy role
for the government, but this scenario is unlikely over the medium
term.

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade

- Bancoldex's GSR and IDRs could be upgraded in the event of a
similar action on Colombia's sovereign ratings, absent any change
in Fitch's view of the government's propensity to provide support
to this bank;

- National ratings have no upside potential because they are at the
highest level in the national rating scale.

SUBSIDIARIES & AFFILIATES: KEY RATING DRIVERS

Fiducoldex's National Ratings reflect the support they would
receive from Bancoldex in case of need, mainly based on Fitch's
opinion of the entity's high strategic role for Bancoldex's
business model and the reputational and franchise implications from
a subsidiary default. Fiducoldex's synergies with its parent and
respective role in executing the group's long-term strategy as well
as alignment with central government are also important factors.

SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES: RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

- Fiducoldex's ratings will reflect any negative rating action
taken on their main shareholder, Bancoldex, and any change in
Fitch's assessment on the propensity and/or ability of the parent
to provide support.

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

- Fiducoldex's National Scale Ratings are at the highest level on
the national scale; therefore, they cannot be upgraded.

PUBLIC RATINGS WITH CREDIT LINKAGE TO OTHER RATINGS

Bancoldex's ratings are support driven from Colombian government.

Fiducoldex's ratings are support driven from Bancoldex.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' 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. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt                       Rating              Prior
   -----------                       ------              -----
Banco de Comercio
Exterior de
Colombia S.A.      LT IDR             BB+     Affirmed   BB+
                   ST IDR             B       Affirmed   B
                   LC LT IDR          BB+     Affirmed   BB+
                   LC ST IDR          B       Affirmed   B
                   Natl LT            AAA(col)Affirmed   AAA(col)
                   Natl ST            F1+(col)Affirmed   F1+(col)
                   Government Support bb+     Affirmed   bb+

Fiduciaria
Colombiana de
Comercio
Exterior S.A.
- Fiducoldex       Natl LT            AAA(col)Affirmed   AAA(col)
                   Natl ST            F1+(col)Affirmed   F1+(col)


FINANCIERA DE DESARROLLO NACIONAL: Fitch Affirms 'BB+' IDRs
-----------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional,
S.A.'s (FDN) Long-Term (LT) Foreign (FC) and Local Currency (LC)
Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'BB+', the Government Support
Rating (GSR) at 'bb+' and the National Long- and Short-Term Ratings
at 'AAA(col)' and 'F1+(col)', respectively. The Rating Outlook for
the long-term ratings is Stable.

Fitch has withdrawn FDN's LT National Rating of 'AAA(col)' to a
COP800,000 million sustainable bond program as the entity decided
not to issue debt form this program and the timeframe set to issue
expired.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Government Support: FDN's IDRs and national ratings are based on
the support it would receive from the Colombian government, should
it be required, as reflected in its GSR of 'bb+'. Fitch views the
entity with a high policy role as it is an integral part of the
state given its role in implementing infrastructure development
policies and the government's ownership stake of 73.37%. The
Colombian government does not guarantee all of FDN's liabilities.

Government Support Ability: The government's current ability to
support the bank is reflected in the sovereign's IDR of
'BB+'/Outlook Stable. The GSR indicates the minimum level to which
the entity's Long-Term IDRs could fall if Fitch does not change its
view on potential sovereign support. The national ratings of FDN,
which are at the highest level in the ratings scale, are relative
rankings of creditworthiness within Colombia. These are based on
potential sovereign support, if needed.

Policy Bank Role: FDN is of high strategic importance for Colombia
as it acts as the government's financial arm to structure and
finance public infrastructure projects. The entity is heavily
involved in the development of the country's biggest road
concession programs and some of the largest infrastructure projects
such as the Bogota subway and airports.

Financial Profile: FDN has continued its expansion plans, as the
loan portfolio has consistently grown at a double-digit pace,
increasing its interest income revenue and driving an improvement
in its profitability metrics; As of 1H23, the bank's operating
profit to risk-weighted assets ratio was 6.6%. Like most
development banks, FDN's loan portfolio is concentrated, but this
is mitigated by good loan performance and robust capital metrics.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade

- FDN's GSR and IDRs could be downgraded if the sovereign rating is
downgraded;

- FDN's GSR, IDRs and National Scale ratings could be downgraded if
Fitch perceives a decrease in the entity's policy role for the
national government, but this scenario is unlikely over the medium
term.

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade

- FDN's GSR and IDRs could be upgraded in the event of a similar
action in Colombia's sovereign ratings, absent any change in
Fitch's view pf the government's propensity to provide support to
FDN;

- National ratings have no upside potential because they are at the
highest level in the national rating scale.

OTHER DEBT AND ISSUER RATINGS: KEY RATING DRIVERS

Fitch affirmed the local senior debt issuance at the same level as
FDN's National Long-Term Rating as the notes' likelihood of default
is the same as the entity's.

OTHER DEBT AND ISSUER RATINGS: RATING SENSITIVITIES

FDN's senior notes' national ratings are sensitive to any changes
in FDN's ratings.

PUBLIC RATINGS WITH CREDIT LINKAGE TO OTHER RATINGS

Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional's ratings are support driven from
the Colombian government.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' 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. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt                     Rating              Prior
   -----------                     ------              -----
Financiera de Desarrollo
Nacional S.A.

                 LT IDR             BB+      Affirmed   BB+

                 ST IDR             B        Affirmed   B

                 LC LT IDR          BB+      Affirmed   BB+

                 LC ST IDR          B        Affirmed   B

                 Natl LT            AAA(col) Affirmed   AAA(col)

                 Natl ST            F1+(col) Affirmed   F1+(col)

                 Government Support bb+      Affirmed   bb+

   senior
   unsecured     Natl LT            AAA(col) Affirmed   AAA(col)

   senior
   unsecured     Natl LT            WD(col) Withdrawn  AAA(col)


FINDETER: Fitch Affirms 'BB+' LongTerm IDRs, Outlook Stable
-----------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Financiera de Desarrollo Territorial
S.A.'s (Findeter) Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer
Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'BB+'. The Rating Outlook is Stable.
Fitch has also affirmed Findeter's National Long-Term Rating at
'AAA(col)'/Outlook Stable.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Government Support Drives Ratings: Findeter's IDRs and senior debt
are driven by its Government Support Rating (GSR), which is
equalized to Colombia's Long-Term IDR (BB+/Stable). The ratings
reflect Fitch's assessment of the Colombian government's propensity
and ability to provide timely support to Findeter if needed.
Although the Colombian government does not explicitly guarantee all
of Findeter's liabilities, Fitch views the entity as an integral
arm of the state, given its role in implementing economic
development policies of the government's National Development Plan,
its role in financing regional and urban infrastructure, and the
state's majority ownership. Colombia's ability to support the
development bank is reflected in its sovereign rating.

GSR indicates the minimum level to which the entity's Long-Term
IDRs could fall if Fitch does not change its view on potential
sovereign support.

The national ratings of Findeter, which are at the highest level in
the ratings scale, are relative rankings of creditworthiness within
Colombia. These are based on potential sovereign support, if
needed.

Policy Bank Role: Findeter is a wholesale development bank, which
structures general obligation loans to supervised financial
institutions, as well as direct lines to a lesser extent, generally
backed by promissory notes from infrastructure projects. Findeter's
mission as a development bank to channel financing into
implementing infrastructure projects on behalf of the state allows
the entity to foster a social impact while ensuring a profitable
return aligned with inflation.

Since 2020, Findeter has strengthened its role as a local
development bank by financing key sectors through special and
direct lines of credit. Moreover, aligned with the National
Development Plan for 2022-2026, Findeter will grant direct loans to
community-based organizations and special purpose vehicles
structured for investment projects in eligible sectors. The
aforementioned further supports Fitch's opinion on the entity's
relevant policy role.

Good Asset Quality: Due to its wholesale nature and its exposure to
large, primarily regulated financial institutions, Findeter has
historically sustained low rates of delinquency in its loan
portfolio. At June 2023, the Past due Loans (PDL) greater than 30
days was 0.1%. Despite its high concentrations, with the top 20
exposures accounting for 99.9% of total loans, concentration risk
is mitigated by high reserves, which covered 564.4% of PDLs greater
than 30 days.

Improvement in Profitability: At June 2023, the bank's
profitability had an exceptional result as the operating profit to
risk-weighted assets ratio improved to 5.9%, above the average of
the last four years of 2.1%. The significant increase in interest
income, given the environment of high interest rates, and the fact
that during 2020, the entity was able to negotiate its financial
costs by changing a part of its financial obligations from variable
to fixed rates, boosted the ratio.

Robust Capitalization: Fitch believes Findeter's capital is robust
and sufficient to maintain growth and absorb potential losses. The
high capitalization metrics are supported by recurrent
profitability and the bank's legal restriction on the payment of
cash dividends. As of June 2023, the common equity tier 1 ratio was
23.1%, which compared favorably with its local and international
peers.

Stable Funding: Findeter's funding structure is stable and is
diversified by funding source. The loans to customer deposits ratio
of 158.1% at the same date exceeded the banking sector average
(107.7%), as the bank utilizes longer tenor funding that helps to
better match its asset and liability structure.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade

- Findeter's GSR and IDRs could be downgraded if the sovereign
rating is downgraded;

- Findeter's GSR, IDRs and National Scale ratings could also be
downgraded if Fitch perceives a decrease in the bank's policy role
for the government, but this scenario is unlikely over the medium
term.

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade

- Findeter's GSR and IDRs could be upgraded in the event of a
similar action on Colombia's sovereign ratings, absent any change
in Fitch's view of the government's propensity to provide support
to this bank;

- National ratings have no upside potential because they are at the
highest level in the national rating scale.

OTHER DEBT AND ISSUER RATINGS: KEY RATING DRIVERS

SENIOR UNSECURED DEBT

The rating of Findeter's senior unsecured debt is at the same level
as the bank's 'BB+' Long-Term IDR as the likelihood of default of
the debt issuance is the same as the likelihood of default of the
bank.

SUBORDINATED DEBT

Findeter's subordinated bonds are rated 'AA(col)' on the National
Scale, two notches below Findeter's Long-Term National Scale rating
of 'AAA(col)', reflecting two notches for loss severity (-2) ,
given the terms of the issuances (plain-vanilla subordinated
debt).

OTHER DEBT AND ISSUER RATINGS: RATING SENSITIVITIES

Senior and subordinated notes' ratings are sensitive to any changes
in Findeter's IDRs; therefore, the debt ratings will follow the
same direction and magnitude on Findeter's ratings movements.

PUBLIC RATINGS WITH CREDIT LINKAGE TO OTHER RATINGS

The ratings are support-driven. This entity's ratings are linked to
those of the Colombian Sovereign.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' 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. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt                     Rating               Prior
   -----------                     ------               -----
Financiera de Desarrollo
Territorial S.A. - Findeter

                  LT IDR             BB+     Affirmed   BB+

                  ST IDR             B       Affirmed   B

                  LC LT IDR          BB+     Affirmed   BB+

                  LC ST IDR          B       Affirmed   B

                  Natl LT            AAA(col)Affirmed   AAA(col)

                  Natl ST            F1+(col)Affirmed   F1+(col)

                  Government Support bb+     Affirmed   bb+

   senior
   unsecured      LT                 BB+     Affirmed   BB+

   subordinated   Natl LT            AA(col) Affirmed   AA(col)




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

COOP-HERRERA: Scammed Victims Demand Their Money Back
-----------------------------------------------------
Dominican Today reports that people who claim to have been
defrauded by the Herrera Savings and Credit Cooperative
(Coop-Herrera) went to the Santo Domingo Oeste Prosecutor's Office
to demand the return of their money.  This follows the arrest of
seven executives of the cooperative who are accused of a 2.5
billion Dominican pesos fraud that harmed thousands of people,
according to Dominican Today.

One person, Stephenie Janely Celestino, reported that she had been
saving at Coop-Herrera for three years and was defrauded out of
122,000 pesos, the report relays. She mentioned that three months
ago, she was told to wait because the cooperative was under
investigation by the Idecoop (Cooperative Development and Credit
Institute), the report notes.

Another individual, Arelis Lluberes, who had been saving for eight
years, criticized the Coop-Herrera executives as "abusers" for
holding the money of many unhappy people, the report relays.

Rafael Gomez, who claimed to have been swindled out of over 300,000
pesos, expressed his distrust of the authorities and has lost hope
of recovering his money, the report discloses.

The Public Ministry has requested preventive detention for several
Coop-Herrera executives, including Jorge Eligio Mendez, Gabriel
Santana Borsilea, Kenia del Carmen Liriano Perez, Ana Cecilia
Tejada Santos de Alvarez, Simona Borsilea, Jacer Eliazar Mejia
Pereyra, and Julio Cesar Minaya, the report adds.


[*] DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Suriname Has Opportunity in Oil Investment
------------------------------------------------------------------
Dominican Today reports that President Luis Abinader of the
Dominican Republic signed a memorandum of understanding with his
Surinamese counterpart, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, which opens up
the possibility for Dominican capital to be invested in oil
exploitation in Suriname. This move follows similar agreements
signed with Guyana in August.

Suriname and Guyana have both recently discovered significant
deposits of oil and natural gas, making them attractive
destinations for foreign capital investment, according to Dominican
Today.  The Dominican government aims to leverage this opportunity
for investment, the report notes.

Suriname and Guyana are neighboring nations in northeastern South
America, north of Brazil. Suriname's president, Santokhi,
highlighted the country's oil and gas discoveries, including a
recent confirmation by Total Energy, a French oil company, of a
significant oil deposit with a production capacity of 200,000
barrels per day, the report relays.  He mentioned that the
exploitation of this area is expected to begin in two years, making
it an opportune time for investments, the report says.

The memorandum of understanding focuses on cooperation in the
hydrocarbon industry, aiming to collaborate on the exploration,
production, and development of energy resources, as well as the
implementation of advanced and sustainable technologies, the report
relays.  President Abinader hopes that both the Dominican public
and private sectors will invest in the exploration and exploitation
of oil in Suriname, emphasizing the potential role of Refidomsa, a
government-owned refinery, in this endeavor, the report notes.

In addition to the hydrocarbon sector, the two governments also
signed agreements related to air services, agriculture, and
sanitary and phytosanitary matters, the report relays.  These
agreements aim to strengthen cooperation and facilitate trade
between the two countries, the report discloses.

Overall, these projects are expected to take several years to
materialize, with the goal of ensuring energy and food security
while fostering economic and technological development in both
nations, the report discloses.  Additionally, Suriname expressed
its support for the UN resolution regarding Haiti and will
participate in the security team led by Kenya to help restore
governance in the country, 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.

Moody's Investors Service, on Aug. 10, 2023, changed the outlook on
the Government of Dominican Republic's ratings to positive from
stable and affirmed the local and foreign-currency long-term issuer
and senior unsecured ratings at Ba3.  Moody's said the key drivers
for the outlook change to positive are: (i) sustained high growth
rates have enhanced the scale and wealth levels of the economy; and
(ii) a material decline in the government debt burden coupled with
improved fiscal policy effectiveness will support medium-term debt
sustainability.  The affirmation of the Ba3 ratings balances the
Dominican Republic's strong economic growth dynamics and relatively
contained susceptibility to event risks, with a comparatively
weaker fiscal position, reflecting long-standing credit challenges
which include: (i) a shallow revenue base compared to peers, (ii)
weak debt affordability metrics, and (iii) high exposure to foreign
currency borrowing.

S&P Global Ratings, in December 2022, 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 stable outlook reflects S&P's
expectation of continued favorable GDP growth and policy continuity
over the next 12-18 months that will likely stabilize the
government's debt burden.

In February 2023, S&P said its BB ratings reflect the country's
fast-growing and resilient economy.  It also incorporates the
country's historical political and social challenges in passing
structural reforms to contain fiscal deficits, despite recent
improvements in the electricity sector. The ratings are constrained
by relatively high debt, a hefty interest burden, and limited
monetary policy flexibility.

In September 2023, S&P assigned its 'BB' issue rating to the
Dominican Republic's 11.25% Dominican peso (DOP) linked bond for
DOP71 billion (equivalent to US$1.25 billion) maturing in 2035. The
rating on the bond is the same as the long-term local currency
sovereign credit rating on the Dominican Republic (BB/Stable/B).
The country used about 57% of the DOP-linked bond to roll over a
peso-denominated bond maturing in 2026, and will use the rest of
the proceeds for general budgetary purposes.

Fitch Ratings, in December 2022, affirmed the Dominican Republic's
Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB-'
with a Stable Rating Outlook.




=============
J A M A I C A
=============

JAMAICA: Gets World Bank Credits for Fiscal Mgmt., Debt Reduction
-----------------------------------------------------------------
RJR News reports that the World Bank has credited Jamaica for its
fiscal management and debt reduction.

While responding to questions posed by Radio Jamaica's Business
Reporter Javaughn Keyes, Chief Economist for Latin America and the
Caribbean at the World Bank, William Maloney, said the country's
economic framework has done well to encourage resilience, according
to RJR News.

"Jamaica has done some superhuman lifting in terms of policy over
the last ten years. Jamaica is really the only one that has made
major reductions in its debt levels over the last ten years, and
that is largely due to their EPOC (Economic Program Oversight
Committee) system of involving many elements of civil society and
ensuring transparency in the government's program, how it's
managing the debt.  My guess is that those skills will be useful
for attacking other problems going forward," he said, the report
notes.

Looking at the region, Mr. Maloney noted that while headwinds still
exist, there are clear signs of recovery from the COVID-19
pandemic, the report discloses.

"We're now at [ab]ove our 2019 levels of GDP. Unfortunately, we are
the slowest recoverers in the world. If you look at Asia, East Asia
and South Asia, they're both about a [ab]ove where they were before
the pandemic. So growth is slow. Our forecasts, as you might have
noticed, have changed a little bit, but it's worth highlighting
that it's been a fair amount of volatility largely arising from
what's happening in the advanced countries," the report says.

The World Bank estimates that the region will see a two per cent
increase in GDP this year, the report notes.

This reflects a 0.5 per cent upgrade in the outlook compared with
earlier this year, the report adds.

                      About Jamaica

Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea.
Jamaica is an upper-middle income country with an economy heavily
dependent on tourism.  Other major sectors of the Jamaican economy
include agriculture, mining, manufacturing, petroleum refining,
financial and insurance services.

S&P Global Ratings raised on September 13, 2023, its long-term
foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Jamaica to
'BB-' from 'B+', and affirmed its short-term foreign and local
currency sovereign credit ratings at 'B'.  The stable outlook
reflects S&P's expectation that the government will remain
committed to prudent fiscal policies and reducing debt, as well as
supportive economic policies including a flexible exchange rate
regime and effective monetary policy.  This is the best credit
rating that Jamaica has received from S&P since it started rating
the country's sovereign debt in 1999, according to The Gleaner.

In March 2022, Fitch Ratings affirmed Jamaica's Long-Term Foreign
Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B+'. The Rating Outlook is
Stable.

Moody's credit rating for Jamaica was last set at B2 with stable
outlook (December 2019).  




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

FINANCIERA INDEPENDENCIA: Fitch Cuts IDRs to B+, On Watch Negative
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Financiera Independencia, S.A.B. de
C.V., SOFOM, E.N.R. (Findep)'s Long-Term (LT) Local and Foreign
Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to 'B+' from 'BB-', and the
senior unsecured LT debt ratings to 'B+' from 'BB-'. Fitch has also
downgraded Findep's and Apoyo Economico Familiar S. A. de C. V.,
Sociedad Financiera de Objeto Multiple, E. N. R.'s (AEF) LT
National Ratings to 'BBB(mex)' from 'A-(mex)', and the Short-Term
(ST) National Ratings to 'F3(mex)' from 'F1(mex)'. The agency
assigned a Recovery Rating of 'RR4' to Findep's global unsecured
notes. These ratings and the ST IDRs of 'B' were placed on Rating
Watch Negative (RWN).

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The rating actions reflect Findep's increased liquidity risk
arising from short-term maturities concentration during the first
seven months of 2024. In Fitch's view, Findep has not been
sufficiently proactive in addressing the refinancing of the
remaining portion of the 8% senior notes due in July 2024 which, as
of June 2023, represented around 23% of its total debt. The company
plans to address the bond payments with operational cash flows and
credit lines disbursements, and to refinance bank credit lines. At
present day, Findep faces the execution risk of successfully
completing the refinancing process of a significant credit
facility.

The largest payments due are the refinancing of a MXN1,000 million
credit line due in April 2024 and the USD56.9 million outstanding
amount of the international bond due in July 2024. The Negative
Watch reflects the execution risk related to generating sufficient
cash flows or successfully refinancing its credit lines. Findep's
IDRs are based on its standalone credit profile (SCP) which is
below the implied SCP due to the weakest link of funding, liquidity
and coverage.

Increased Execution Risk: Fitch has revised Management and Strategy
trend to Negative from Stable. In Fitch's view, Findep's plans to
address the payment of the remaining portion of its 8% senior notes
have a high execution risk. The payment relies mostly on cash flow
generation and credit facilities disbursements, which are sensitive
to high inflation and creditors' risk appetite.

Increased Liquidity Risk: Fitch has revised Findep's risk profile
score to 'b+' from 'bb-' and the trend to Negative from Stable due
to the increased liquidity risks that the entity faces. Findep has
reasonable underwriting standards, however its high-risk profile
results in high delinquency metrics compared with its peers.

SROE Trend Revised to Negative: Fitch maintained its assessment of
the Sector Risk Operating Environment (SROE) score of 'bbb-' and
revised the trend to negative from stable. The score is above
Mexican peers' SROE (bb+ with Negative trend), capturing the
company's operation in the United States through its subsidiary
Apoyo Financiero Inc. (AFI). The Negative trend reflects the
decrease of Findep's U.S. operations and Mexican finance and
leasing companies' funding pressures.

Business Profile Underpinned by Geographical Diversification:
Findep's business profile considers its geographical
diversification and business model concentration in unsecured loans
to low income customers unserved by banks. Findep registered an
average total net operating income of USD242 million from 2019 to
2022 and USD142 million as of June 2023. Fitch expects total net
operating income generation to remain consistent with the assigned
score as the company expects to maintain moderate loan growth over
the next 12 months to 18 months. The trend of the business profile
was revised to Stable from Negative.

High Delinquency Metrics: On a consolidated basis, Findep
maintained high delinquency metrics over the past 18 months due to
a deterioration in AFI's loan portfolio and a reduction of the
consolidated loan portfolio. As of June 2023, stage 3 loans
represented 6.5% of gross loans (2022: 6.7%). In Fitch's view, this
metric could be moderately pressured considering that Findep is not
planning to resume loan growth in the near term. Findep is actively
charging off loans, the metric with charge-offs, including Trailing
12-months (TTM), reached 22% of gross loans plus TTM charge-offs as
of June 2023, according to figures provided by the entity.

Sound Profitability: In Fitch's view, controlled operating costs
and an increasing net interest margin underpin Findep's sound
profitability. The entity's core metric of pre-tax income to
average assets increased to 8.6% as of June 2023 from 7.9% as of
December 2022. The agency expects Findep to sustain high
profitability considering its strategy to strengthen its operations
through its digital transformation, which will reinforce its
origination process and increase efficiency. In Fitch's view,
Findep's profitability is sensitive to loan portfolio growth and
deterioration, as exhibited during 2020; nevertheless, the entity
has taken proactive actions to control asset deterioration.

Good Loss Absorption Capacity: Fitch expects Findep to maintain its
strengthened loss absorption capacity due to good profitability,
reduced loan origination, and a prioritization of loan collections.
As of June 2023, the entity's total debt to tangible equity metric
declined to around 1.2x from 1.7x in December 2022. Capitalization
also benefited from profit retention considering that Findep has
not paid dividends in more than 10 years.

Funding, Liquidity and Coverage Revised Downward: Fitch has
downgraded its assessment of Findep's funding, liquidity and
coverage to 'b' from 'b+'. and maintained the Negative trend and
high importance. Findep's liquidity coverage is pressured by the
increasing proportion of short-term debt, which represented around
47% of the total debt as of June 2023 (2022: 29.7%). As of June
2023, the core metric of liquid assets and undrawn committed
facilities to short-term funding was close to 0.3x, nevertheless,
considering the amount of the 8% senior notes outstanding this
coverage metric would be lower.

In Fitch's view, the 8% Senior Notes payment is reliant on Findep's
operating cash flow, which could vary due to the prevailing
economic conditions in Mexico and US and relevant credit line
disbursements. Fitch also considers that Findep's funding structure
is converging towards secured funding sources. The core metric of
unsecured debt to total debt was 63.5% as of June 2023 (average
2019 to 2022: 65.4%).

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade

- Failure to raise the ratio of cash and undrawn committed credit
facilities to short-term debt above 0.75x in conjunction with
sufficient cash flow generation and credit line availability;

- Failure to successfully complete the refinancing of the relevant
credit facility;

- A relevant deterioration of Findep's business prospects and
diversification, which could result in a change of Fitch's
assessment of its business profile and SROE.

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade

- The RWN could be removed and the ratings could be affirmed if
Findep timely executes its refinancing and liquidity accumulation
plans and significantly eases its liquidity pressures;

- A sustained improvement in Findep's maturity profile over the
rating horizon would be positive for the ratings.

DEBT AND OTHER INSTRUMENT RATINGS: KEY RATING DRIVERS

Debt Ratings: Findep's global debt issuances ratings are in line
with its respective corporate rating level, as the debt is senior
unsecured. The 'RR4' recovery rating assigned to Findep's senior
unsecured issuance reflects average recovery prospects.

DEBT AND OTHER INSTRUMENT RATINGS: RATING SENSITIVITIES

Senior unsecured debt ratings will mirror any changes in Findep's
IDRs or could be downgraded below Findep's IDR if the level of
unencumbered assets substantially deteriorates, subordinating
bondholders to other debt.

SUBSIDIARY AND AFFILIATE RATINGS: KEY RATING DRIVERS

Subsidiary Ratings: AEF national ratings are equalized to Findep's,
driven by Fitch's opinion that the high integration and large
relative size of the subsidiary support a group ratings approach.
As of June 2023, AEF accounted for close to 27% of Findep´s
consolidated assets after eliminations, plays a relevant role to
the consolidated operation, and received the majority of its
funding from related parties.

SUBSIDIARY AND AFFILIATE RATINGS: RATING SENSITIVITIES

AEF national ratings will move in tandem with Findep´s national
ratings, consistent with the group ratings approach.

ADJUSTMENTS

The Standalone Credit Profile has been assigned below the implied
Standalone Credit Profile due to the following reason(s): Weakest
Link - Funding, Liquidity and Coverage (negative).

The Business Profile score has been assigned below the implied
score due to the following adjustment reason(s): Business model
(negative).

The Asset Quality score has been assigned below the implied score
due to the following adjustment reason(s): Loan charge-offs,
depreciation or impairment policy (negative).

The Earnings and Profitability score has been assigned below the
implied score due to the following adjustment reason(s): Revenue
diversification (negative).

The Capitalisation and Leverage score has been assigned below the
implied score due to the following adjustment reason(s): Risk
profile and business model (negative).

SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL ADJUSTMENTS

Pre-paid expenses and other deferred assets were reclassified as
intangibles and deducted from equity to reflect their low loss
absorption capacity.

Financial figures are in accordance with the CNBV criteria. 2Q23
and 4Q22 figures include recent accounting changes in the process
to converge to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
Prior years did not include this change and the agency believes
they are not directly comparable.

PUBLIC RATINGS WITH CREDIT LINKAGE TO OTHER RATINGS

AEF's ratings are linked to Financiera Independencia's ratings.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Fitch has revised Findep's Management Strategy ESG Relevance Score
to '4' from its typical score of '3' reflecting the higher
relevance for the rating of the company's ability to execute its
strategy to pay and refinance its short-term debt. Fitch considers
these execution risks to have a negative impact on the credit
profile in conjunction with other factors.

Findep has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Customer Welfare —
Fair Messaging, Privacy & Data Security as its business model has
high lending rates to unbanked, lower income segments of the
population, which exposes Findep to relatively high regulatory,
legal and reputational risks. This has a negative impact on the
credit profile and is relevant to the rating in conjunction with
other factors.

Findep has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Exposure to Social
Impacts given that its business model (individual loans to
low-income segments) is exposed to shifts of consumer or social
preferences or to measures that the government could take to
increase financial inclusion. This has a negative impact on the
credit profile and is relevant to the rating in conjunction with
other factors.

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' 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. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt             Rating              Recovery  Prior
   -----------             ------              --------  -----
Financiera Independencia,
S.A.B. de C.V., SOFOM, E.N.R.

                  LT IDR    B+      Downgrade            BB-

                  ST IDR    B       Rating Watch On      B

                  LC LT IDR B+      Downgrade            BB-

                  LC ST IDR B       Rating Watch On      B

                  Natl LT   BBB(mex)Downgrade            A-(mex)

                  Natl ST   F3(mex) Downgrade            F1(mex)

   senior
   unsecured      LT        B+      Downgrade    RR4     BB-

Apoyo Economico Familiar S. A.
de C. V., Sociedad Financiera
de Objeto Multiple, E. N. R.

                  Natl LT   BBB(mex)Downgrade            A-(mex)

                  Natl ST   F3(mex) Downgrade            F1(mex)




=======
P E R U
=======

PERU LNG: Fitch Lowers LongTerm IDRs to 'B', Outlook Negative
-------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has downgraded PERU LNG S.R.L.'s (PLNG) Long-Term
Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to 'B'
from 'B+'; and assigned a Negative Rating Outlook. Fitch has also
downgraded PLNG's USD940 million senior unsecured notes due 2030 to
'B'/'RR4' from 'B+'/'RR4'.

PLNG's downgrade reflects the weakening of the company's financial
profile, as a result of low international prices for natural gas.
Fitch estimates PLNG's EBITDA leverage will be close to 10x by end
of 2023, and will remain above 4.5x in 2024 and EBITDA to interest
expense will average 3.0x.

The Negative Outlook reflects the company's tight debt service
coverage ratios in 2025 and 2026, when the company faces USD199
million and USD190 of debt service, respectively.

The Recovery Rating for PLNG's 'B' senior unsecured notes is capped
at 'RR4' due to Peru's designation as a Group D country within
Fitch's Country-Specific Treatment of Recovery Ratings Criteria.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Higher Leverage: PLNG's earnings and leverage profile are volatile
and tend to fluctuate drastically. The company's sale and purchase
agreement (SPA) limits its upside revenue potential and intensifies
exposure to commodity price risk, as up to 55% of PLNG's revenues
are indexed to Henry-Hub (HH) destination prices and the remaining
can be sold more optimistically to high price markers, such as
National Balance Point (NPB) and Japan Korea Marker (JKM). The HH
indexed volume will be reduced to 41% in 2026, and will not apply
afterwards. FY2023 EBITDA is estimated to reach USD93 million on
lower than expected production; and leverage will be close to 10x
by FY2023, and remain above 4.5x in 2024.

Weakened Financial Flexibility: Fitch expects PLNG's liquidity to
tighten within the next 24 months, as the company faces USD128
million in debt service in 2024, and USD199 million in 2025. Fitch
estimates that cash and equivalents available plus FCF, in 2025 and
in 2026, will cover debt obligations by 1.7x on average. Fitch's
base estimates the company's cash balance will be near to USD181
million by YE 2024, and USD152 million by YE 2025.

Gas Prices Trending Downward: LNG spot market prices are expected
to tighten in Europe due to ample LNG supplies to the region,
curtailed demand and high storage levels; the expansion of LNG
infrastructure and improving interconnectivity in the region should
help reduce prices to normalized levels in a sustainable manner in
the medium to long term. Gas price assumptions for European Title
Transfer Facility (TTF) for 2023 was marginally increased to
USD13/mcf from USD12/mcf, reflecting higher-than-expected YTD
prices; HH was reduced to USD2.8/mcf from USD3.0/mcf, due to
increasing gas production, higher storage levels and a likely mild
winter in the U.S. and Europe. YTD Sept. 27, 49% of PLNG production
was sold under European markers.

Strategic Asset in the Country: PLNG is a strategic asset for the
country that supports continued gas development in the country. As
of August 2023, the Peruvian government has received close to
USD648 million from both natural gas production and associated
liquids from Blocks 56, 57 and 88 in the Camisea field. The company
has no domestic competitors given the high investment barriers to
entry and the gas supply agreement (GSA) that effectively gives it
exclusive rights to much of the country's exportable gas supply,
allocated from the prolific low-cost operations of Block 56 and
57.

Strong Shareholders: PLNG is rated on a stand-alone basis, but
Fitch believes it benefits from having strong shareholders: Shell
Plc (AA-/Stable, 20%), Hunt Consolidated, Inc. (50%), SK Innovation
(20%), and Marubeni Corporation (10%). All companies have strategic
and operational incentive to support the company in the event it
falls under financial distress. The shareholder agreement reflects
the commitment to maintain the company's viability, mainly through
supportive contracts clauses, and on a lesser extent in the form of
UD60 million in capital injection and USD50 million in extra
support from the Quarterly payment and USD30 million in
subordinated loans obtained in 2021, fully repaid in 2022.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

PLNG has limited regional peers. Even outside Latin America, LNG
plants tend to operate on a more purely take-or-pay, capacity-based
on a tolling business model, whereas PLNG incorporates commodity
price risk. Tolling based peers such as Transportadora de Gas del
Peru (TGP; BBB+/Negative) and GNL Quintero S.A. (GNLQ; A-/Stable)
benefit from the related cash flow stability afforded by their
revenue structure.

GNL Quintero, in particular, supports a significantly higher, as it
operates a tolling terminal unloading, storing and re-gasifying LNG
on behalf of gas buyers under 20-year exclusive term use-or-pay
agreement.

While TGP has a projected leverage of 2.0x in the near term, its
revenues derived from long-term ship or pay contracts to transport
natural gas and natural gas liquids from the country's main gas
production formation, Camisea, to the main consumption area and
export terminal. Similar to GNL Quintero, PLNG is considered a
strategic asset for the country, while GNL Quintero allows the
liquefaction from imported natural gas in Chile, PLNG is the main
infrastructure allowing Peru to export natural gas.

In the U.S. corporate universe, Cheniere Energy Inc. (CEI;
BBB-/Stable) rating reflects stable cash flows provided by
long-term SPA and integrated production marketing (IPM) GSA with
investment-grade counterparties. TransCanada PipeLines Limited's
(TCPL; BBB+/Stable) large scale and diversity across
regulatory-based and long-term contracted businesses in natural gas
pipelines warrants a higher rating compared with PLNG's single
operation.

Freeport LNG Investments, LLLP (FLNGI; B-/Negative) rating
incorporates the long-term, take-or-pay contracts to supply LNG for
export, similar structure than of PLNG's, but with current
operational restrictions following the ignition of a natural gas
vapor cloud from a ruptured LNG transfer line at the Texas LNG
facility.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

Fitch's Key Assumptions Within Its Rating Case for the Issuer

- Fitch's Gas price deck for HH at USD2.80/mcf by YE 2023;
USD3.25/mcf in 2024, USD3.00/mcf in 2025 and long-term price at
USD2.75/mcf;

- Fitch's Gas price deck for TTF at USD13.00/mcf by YE 2023;
USD10.00/mcf in 2024 and in 2025, and long-term price at
USD5.00/mcf;

- HH-indexed destinations receive 55% of shipments until 2025; 41%
in 2026, and does not apply from 2027 onwards. Remainder volumes
evenly distributed between European and Asian indexed
destinations;

- YE cash balance of at least USD50 million over the rating
horizon;

- Exported volumes at 192 Tbtu in 2023, and 202 Tbtu on average
between 2024-2026;

- Average plant efficiency of 92% for the rating horizon;

- Transportation costs annually adjusted by the U.S. Producer Price
Index;

- Annual capex of USD32 million in 2023. Average of USD20 million
between 2024-2026;

- No dividends payments during rating horizon.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

The Negative Outlook may be revised to Stable if the company's
financial flexibility materially improves in the next 12 months.

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

- Amendments to contracts that would reduce price and volume risk,
similar to its tolling-based peers in the region;

- Consistent track record of built up cash over the rating horizon
with EBITDA interest coverage consistently over 3.0x;

- Liquidity ratio consistently above 1.5x over the rating horizon;

- Hedge strategy to mitigate the company's exposure to commodity
price risk;

- Greater visibility on medium- to long-term re-contracting
options.

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

- Material disruptions in gas supply or other operational outages
eroding the company's cash flow generation;

- Cash available below USD50 million;

- Liquidity ratio consistently below 1.25x over the rating
horizon;

- EBITDA leverage above 5.0x over the rating horizon;

- EBITDA interest coverage below 1.25x;

- Consecutive years of negative FCF.

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Tightening Liquidity: As of June 2023, PLNG had USD146 million of
cash on hand and USD70 million available under a working capital
facility due in August 2024; while having USD78 million in
short-term debt maturities, as the bond starts amortizing in
September 2024. Lower than expected export volumes in 2023 combined
with low LNG prices will challenge PLNG's liquidity in the upcoming
year. Fitch estimates FCF to be positive and close to USD20 million
in 2023, and should average USD110 million between 2024 and 2026,
based on its price deck scenarios.

During 1H23, the company repaid USD110 million to its off-taker
corresponding to the quarterly payment SPA clause and made a USD45
million distribution in the form of capital reduction to its
shareholders. The company has access of up to USD60 million in cash
support from its SPA in low prices environments.

ISSUER PROFILE

PERU LNG S.R.L. was created in 2003 with the purpose of developing,
building, and operating a LNG plant. The company operates a 4.5
million mtpa gas liquefaction plant and its related facilities, a
marine terminal and a 408km pipeline that transports natural gas
(NG) from the Camisea fields to the coast.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' 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. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt               Rating          Recovery   Prior
   -----------               ------          --------   -----
PERU LNG S.R.L.      LT IDR    B  Downgrade             B+

                     LC LT IDR B  Downgrade             B+

   senior
   unsecured         LT        B  Downgrade    RR4      B+


VOLCAN COMPANIA: Fitch Cuts LongTerm IDRs to B-, On Watch Negative
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Volcan Compania Minera S.A.A.'s
Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs)
to 'B-' from 'B+', as well as its senior unsecured notes due in
2026 to 'B-' from 'B+' and an 'RR4' Recovery Rating has been
assigned. The ratings have been placed on Rating Watch Negative.

The ratings downgrade is driven by increased liquidity pressure
amid recent governance concerns that could thwart Volcan's ability
to refinance in a timely manner while pressure mounts on FCF
generation from low zinc prices, high costs and capital expenditure
needs to sustain volumes.

The Negative Watch reflects the challenges Volcan faces completing
its refinancing strategy and pursuing additional alternatives to
raise cash in the next two quarters in order to avoid further
negative rating actions.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Governance Concerns: The misalignment of priorities between
Volcan's majority shareholder, Glencore, and minorities, such as
Peruvian Pension Funds and the Picasso and Letts families, became
apparent after the general shareholder agreement to spinoff the
Chancay port development, which prompted high profile board and
management changes. Although initial concerns about short-term
control have seemingly subsided, the impact of these and further
discrepancies on asset sales, liquidity facilities or liability
management might affect the company's financial flexibility. Volcan
called for a new general shareholder meeting for October 23rd to
vote for board changes.

Heightened Refinancing Risk: Given scant cash availability and
negative FCF, Volcan is hard pressed to meet upcoming debt
maturities in 2024. These consist of three USD35 million quarterly
amortizations starting in 2Q24 totaling USD105 million of a bank
syndicate. The company signed preliminary offtake agreements for
concentrates sales prepayments for up to USD25 million and
continues to evaluate other options, including asset sales. As of
June 30 2023, Volcan had USD50 million of cash. In addition, its
revolving credit facility of USD50 million ends in November 2023.

Asset Sales: Divestitures from non-core assets may be used as a
contingent source of cash for capex financing and debt repayment.
Assets more likely to be sold include Volcan's approximately 16%
stake in Polpaico, a Chilean cement producer, and its hydro power
plants. Fitch has not considered the disposal of the now spun-off
Chancay port project. The final outcome and timing of these
transactions remains uncertain.

Negative FCF: Fitch forecasts Volcan's EBITDA at USD235 million in
2023 from almost USD300 million in 2022. Capital expenditures are
expected to be USD190 million in 2023, down from USD222 million in
2022, but below previous expectations of USD240 million as
investments are decreased and most of the Romina expansion in
Alpamarca is postponed into 2024. Volcan's FCF is expected to be
marginally positive in 2023 and turn negative by USD55 million in
2024 after these changes.

Challenging Operations: Zinc prices plummeted as the market balance
swung into a surplus, while Volcan slowly improves cost metrics and
weighs an expansion project to tackle short mine lives of about
five years. Volcan's cost structure reached the fourth quartile of
the global zinc all-in sustaining cost curve in 2022, with a
weighted average of USD2,540/MT Zinc, including byproducts
according to metals consultancy CRU. While the unit cost in 1H23 is
5% lower than in 2022, it remains 12% higher than in 2019.

Moderate Leverage: Fitch expects gross and net leverage EBITDA
ratios to average 3.8x and 3.3x, respectively, between 2023 and
2025. EBITDA to interest expense is expected to weaken to an
average of 4.7x between 2023-2025 and fall to below 2.0x in 2026.
Gross leverage is forecast to average about USD900 million between
2023 and 2025, up from USD790 million in YE 2022. This includes
debt financing of the Romina related capital expenditures of USD12
million in 2023, USD65 million in 2024 and USD63 million in 2025,
partial refinancing of the syndicate loan installment payments and
an additional buffer stemming from reduced flexibility due to
higher costs.

Glencore's Exit: Glencore's publicly stated intention to sell its
55% voting and 22% economic stakes in the company does not affect
Volcan's rating. Fitch has not considered further financing, or
operational support from Glencore. However, this could have
implications for Change of Control Clauses in lending documents
that might result in additional refinancing risk for Volcan.
Furthermore, this process casts doubt on Volcan's ability to
promptly develop its extensive mining rights.

ESG - Governance Structure: Volcan Compania Minera S.A.A.'s
dynamics between its shareholders, Glencore and minority
shareholders, such as Picasso and Letts family, impact their
ability to address the company's capitalization needs.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Volcan's production of base and precious metals diversification is
higher than that of peers Ero Copper Corp (B/Stable), Aris Mining
Corp (B+/Stable), Nexa Resources SA (BBB-/Stable), and Minsur SA
(BBB-/Positive), similar to that of Compania de Minas Buenaventura
SAA (BB-/Stable), but lower than that of Industrias Penoles SAB de
CV (BBB/Stable). Volcan operates in one country (Peru), like
Buenaventura, or Penoles (Mexico), Ero (Brazil) and Aris (Colombia)
whereas Nexa and Minsur have diversified into Peru and Brazil.

Volcan's scale of operations is higher than that of Ero and Aris,
similar to that of Buenaventura, but lower than that of Nexa
Resources and Minsur, and considerably smaller than that of
higher-rated miner Penoles.

Fitch projects that Volcan will have a weaker capital structure and
liquidity than these peers. Its 3.8x and 3.3x gross and net EBITDA
leverage compares with Buenaventura's 3.9x and 2.6x. Both trail
behind Aris' 2.5x and 1.7x or Ero's 2.0x and 1.5x.

Volcan's cost position in the fourth quartile of the zinc all-in
sustaining costs is similar to that of Buenaventura's fourth
quartile in the gold curve, but worse than Aris Mining's third in
gold or Ero Copper's second in copper.

Volcan's consolidated life of mine of five years of reserves is
also on the lower end, and is comparable with that of Buenaventura
or Aris Mining's four years but lower than Ero's 17 years.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

Fitch's Key Assumptions Within the Rating Case for the Issuer:

- Average zinc price of USD2,600/tonne in 2023, USD2,500/tonne in
2024 and USD2,300/tonne in 2025;

- Average silver price of USD23.75/oz in 2023, USD22.5/oz in 2024,
and USD20/oz in 2025;

- Average lead prices of USD2,100/tonne in 2023, USD1,900/tonne in
2024, and USD1,800/tonne in 2025;

- Capex of USD192 million, USD250 million and USD250 million in
2023, 2024, and 2025;

- Zinc output of 243,000 MT, 260,000 MT and 264,000 MT in 2023,
2024 and 2025;

- Silver output of 13.4 million oz, 12.0 million oz, and 11.6
million oz in 2023, 2024, and 2025;

- Yauli's zinc and silver production rise 9% and 4%, respectively
in 2023. Fitch expects Yauli to contribute 60% of revenues in
2023;

- Romina is expected to achieve full production in late 2025. Fitch
expects the resulting Alpamarca, with the Romina expansion, to
contribute 10% of revenues in 2026.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

- A sustained gross debt/EBITDA ratio of less than 3.5x in a
sustained basis;

- A sustained net debt/EBITDA ratio of less than 3.0x in a
sustained basis;

- Positive to neutral FCF over the rating horizon;

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

- Failure to improve liquidity through asset sales or alternative
options.

- A sustained gross debt/EBITDA ratio of more than 4.5x with an
unwillingness or inability to deleverage;

- A sustained net debt/EBITDA ratio of more than 4.0x with an
unwillingness or inability to deleverage;

- Negative FCF over the rating horizon;

- EBITDA to interest expense coverage ratio consistently below
2.0x.

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Pressured Liquidity: Volcan had USD50 million of readily available
cash and equivalents in June 30th, 2023 and about USD785 million in
total debt. Volcan's outstanding USD365 million of bonds mature in
2026. Its USD400 million syndicate loan matures in 2026 with
payments starting in 2024.

Volcan's liquidity position is pressed to finance capex for Romina
and to refinance the approximately USD105 million and USD137
million 2024 and 2025 installments of its syndicate loan. Fitch
expects that all maturing debt will be refinanced.

ISSUER PROFILE

Volcan is a polymetallic mining company with a fourth quartile cost
position on the global zinc cost curve per CRU. It has a track
record over 75 years of operating in Peru. Volcan is diversified
into the base metals zinc and lead and the precious metal silver.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Volcan Compania Minera S.A.A. has an ESG Relevance Score of '5' for
Governance Structure due to the dynamics between its shareholders,
Glencore and minority shareholders, such as Picasso and Letts
family, that impact their ability to address the company's
capitalization needs.

Volcan Compania Minera S.A.A. has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for
Management Strategy due to ongoing governance concerns, which have
impaired management's ability to execute on its strategy, which has
a negative impact on the credit profile, and is relevant to the
ratings in conjunction with other factors.

Volcan Compania Minera S.A.A. has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for
Waste & Hazardous Materials Management; Ecological Impacts due to
its zinc concentrate leak. In June 2022, a truck careened off the
road spilling 30 tonnes of zinc concentrates in the Chillon river.
This has a negative impact on the credit profile, and is relevant
to the rating[s] in conjunction with other factors.

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' 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. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt               Rating         Recovery   Prior
   -----------               ------         --------   -----
Volcan Compania
Minera S.A.A.       LT IDR    B- Downgrade             B+

                    LC LT IDR B- Downgrade             B+

   senior
   unsecured        LT        B- Downgrade     RR4     B+




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

CARIBBEAN AIRLINES: Imbert's Airline Plan Incenses Antigua
----------------------------------------------------------
Trinidad Express reports that Finance Minister Colm Imbert's recent
budget announcement regarding Caribbean Airlines' regional
expansion plans has struck a wrong chord with the Government of
Antigua and Barbuda, with a spokesperson saying they intend to
"fight" the situation.

The CAL situation was the number one item listed on the Antigua and
Barbuda Cabinet Note for October 5, according to Trinidad Express.

"The Cabinet took note of the scaling-up of Caribbean Airlines
(CAL), including the purchase of several ATR aircraft with the
expectation of placing them on routes serviced by LIAT 1974 Ltd,"
said a statement issued after the weekly Cabinet meeting in Antigua
and Barbuda, the report notes.

"The statement about CAL's expansion came from a Trinidad and
Tobago parliamentarian who spoke in their Parliament recently. It
is evident . . .  that reviving LIAT is not an objective of
Trinidad, whose leaders are determined to capture the aviation
services that Antigua and Barbuda once exported," it stated, the
report discloses.

"Cabinet is determined to have LIAT resume its role, providing
hundreds of jobs to residents and citizens of Antigua and Barbuda.
Air Peace has agreed to purchase a significant share in LIAT (2020)
and to provide the capital necessary to return LIAT to its former
glory," it stated, the report says.

During his budget presentation, Imbert said that following the exit
of LIAT, the Caribbean region has been exhibiting strong air
transport demand, the report relays.

"Additionally, international visitors are on the rise.  As markets
progressively recover, Caribbean Airlines aims to utilise its
assets effectively and establish a foundation for network growth.
The airline thus intends to expand its fleet to meet this growing
demand through the lease of four additional ATR-82 aircraft and
three additional B-737-8s, bringing the fleet size to a
pre-pandemic level.  CAL also plans to lease five Embraer E-175
regional jets to service the intraregional demand and to establish
bases and hubs across the region to promote efficiency and
cost-reducing measures," Imbert stated, the report discloses.

Imbert also said CAL is pursuing cargo operations as an essential
revenue source, and will be leasing two ATR and two B-737-800 jet
aircraft to expand its cargo services across the region, the report
says.

According to a report from the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC),
while speaking at a news conference, Chief of Staff in the Office
of the Prime Minister in Antigua and Barbuda, Lionel Hurst told
reporters that while plans are for LIAT 2020 to become fully
operational by Christmas this year, St John's is not going to lie
down and allow the expansion of CAL in the region, the report
discloses.

"We have been working with Air Peace with the expectation that it
will bring capital, expertise and, of course, a great deal of
interest in ensuring that our LIAT survives.  We believe that it is
a better notion, a better approach than the plans announced by CAL
through a parliamentarian in Trinidad and Tobago," Hurst told
reporters, the report report discloses.

He said CAL "essentially intends to take from Antigua and Barbuda
the aviation services that we have been providing by way of LIAT
for more than 60 years.  So we are going to continue to fight this
approach of trying to take from Antigua and Barbuda the important
role which LIAT did in not only providing service to interregional
travel in the Caribbean, but more importantly, for Antigua and
Barbuda all those jobs—more than 600 jobs," the report relays.

Last month, Gaston Browne, the Prime Minister of Antigua and
Barbuda, announced plans to enter into a relationship with Air
Peace, a private Nigerian airline founded in 2013, the report
notes.  Browne was defending the decision of his administration to
go ahead with plans for LIAT 2020 to replace the cash-strapped LIAT
(1974) Ltd, the report relays.

LIAT (1974) is owned by the governments of Antigua and Barbuda,
Barbados, Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines. It entered
into administration in July 2020 following increased debt and the
impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

"We have tried in the past to get all our OECS colleagues on board
to start an OECS airline, but the problem we have had - and this is
. . . a problem that existed for decades—is that to get a
commitment for all of the countries to fund an airline has been a
problem," Browne said, adding that as a result of a lack of
commitment, his administration decided to pursue a new partner for
the proposed LIAT 2020 "which will be a new legal entity that will
not assume any of the liabilities of LIAT (1974), the report
notes.

"Air Peace is a billion-dollar company. In fact, just recently it
would have ordered about US$300 million worth of aircraft. So it is
substantial in terms of its asset base, it has the experience, and
the argument has always been within the region that whatever
regional airline that is established, that you should have a
private sector component to ensure that we have the necessary
efficiencies and to avoid the legacy issues that we have had with
LIAT in the past", Browne said then, the report relays.

Hurst told reporters that while no firm date has yet been given for
the launch of LIAT 2020, "We are not so far away, the report
notes.

"The licence that is to be issued by the Eastern Caribbean Civil
Aviation Authority can only take place when LIAT 2020 actually has
an aircraft, and as you know we have been in negotiations to
purchase at least one aircraft from LIAT (1974) Ltd and two others
from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the report relays.

"Those two others are claimed property of CDB under the licensing
and lease arrangements that LIAT acquired them. Our expectation is
that we will conclude these concessional arrangements with CDB, if
it is at all possible, and we will bring to bear these airplanes,
which by the way are just sitting there doing absolutely nothing,
the report notes.

"So we think putting them back into the skies is a better bet than
having them do nothing, because they deteriorate rapidly when they
are just sitting there. So that's where we are at," he added.

Hurst said the idea is to have the new airline launched by
Christmas.

"It would be great to have it at Christmas time because that's when
a lot of travel takes place and of course we would like to be able
to offer the services around that time," Hurst told reporters
according to CMC, the report adds.


                   About Caribbean Airlines

Caribbean Airlines Limited -
http://www.caribbean-airlines.com/providespassenger airline
services in the Caribbean, South America, and North America.  The
company also offers freighter services for perishables, fish and
seafood, live animals, human remains, and dangerous goods.  In
addition, it operates a duty free store in Trinidad.  Caribbean
Airlines Limited was founded in 2006 and is based in Piarco,
Trinidad and Tobago.

Caribbean Airlines is among many airlines whose business has been
greatly affected in 2020 by the slowdown of international travel
caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The government of Trinidad &
Tobago guaranteed a US$65 million loan for the airline, and that
funding has helped with the airlines' cash flow shortfall since
May 2020. In September 2020, the airline related it will be
taking cost-cutting measures to help keep it afloat.  The
measures, which was to affect some 1,700 employees, included
salary deductions, no-pay leaves and lay-offs.




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

[*] BOND PRICING COLUMN: For the Week Oct. 2 to Oct. 6, 2023
------------------------------------------------------------
Issuer               Cpn    Price      Maturity   Country    Curr
------               ---    -----      --------   -------    ----
MSU Energy SA         6.9     71.2      02/01/2025   AR        USD
Jamaica Government    8.5     68.9      12/21/2061   JM        JMD
Jamaica Government    6.3     72.7      07/11/2048   JM        JMD
China Maple Leaf      2.3     75        01/27/2026   KY        USD
China SCE Group       6       29        02/04/2026   KY        USD
China SCE Group       7.4     56.2      04/09/2024   KY        USD
China SCE Group       7       35.2      05/02/2025   KY        USD
China SCE Group       6       42.9      09/29/2024   KY        USD
Colombia Bond         7.3     71.3      10/18/2034   CO        COP
Colombia Bond         7.3     71.3      10/18/2034   CO        COP
Colombia Bond         7.3     61.5      10/26/2050   CO        COP
Colombia Bond         7.3     61.5      10/26/2050   CO        COP
Colombia Bond         3.9     54.8      02/15/2061   CO        USD
Colombia Bond         4.1     61.9      02/22/2042   CO        USD
Colombia Bond         5.6     72.7      02/26/2044   CO        USD
Colombia Bond         3.1     74        04/15/2031   CO        USD
Colombia Bond         3.3     72.1      04/22/2032   CO        USD
Colombia Bond         5.2     67.3      05/15/2049   CO        USD
Colombia Bond         4.1     58.8      05/15/2051   CO        USD
Colombia Bond         5       66.9      06/15/2045   CO        USD
Colombia Bond         6.3     63        07/09/2036   CO        COP
Colombia Bond         6.3     63        07/09/2036   CO        COP
Itau Unibanco SA      5.8     19.4      05/20/2027   BR        BRL
VTR Comunicaciones    5.1     55.3      01/15/2028   CL        USD
VTR Comunicaciones    5.1     53.6      01/15/2028   CL        USD
VTR Comunicaciones    4.4     54.4      04/15/2029   CL        USD
VTR Comunicaciones    4.4     54.5      04/15/2029   CL        USD
Vista Energy          1       73        03/03/2028   AR        USD
Voyager II            3.3     74.3      03/23/2034   KY        AUD
Transocean Inc        6.8     67.6      03/15/2038   KY        USD
Inversiones Latin     5.1     44.6      06/15/2033   CL        USD
Inversiones Latin     5.1     44.8      06/15/2033   CL        USD
Panama  Bond          4.5     73.5      01/19/2063   PA        USD
Panama  Bond          4.3     74.8      04/29/2053   PA        USD
Panama  Bond          3.9     66.8      07/23/2060   PA        USD
Earls Eight           0.1     63.8      12/20/2031   KY        AUD
Earls Eight           2.3     75.2      05/20/2032   KY        AUD
Banco Davivienda SA   6.7     66.5                   CO        USD
Banco de Chile        2.7     75.4      03/09/2035   CL        AUD
Banco de Chile        1.7     69.5      04/26/2032   CL        EUR
Banco del Estado      3.1     72.5      02/21/2040   CL        AUD
Banco del Estado de   1.7     70        03/01/2032   CL        EUR
Banco del Estado      2.8     68.9      03/13/2040   CL        AUD
Banco del Estado      1.7     69.2      07/05/2032   CL        EUR
Banco GNB Sudameris   7.5     73.3      04/16/2031   CO        USD
Banco GNB Sudameris   7.5     73.4      04/16/2031   CO        USD
Banco Santander Chile 1.3     57.6      11/29/2034   CL        EUR
Banco Santander Chile 3.1     72.3      02/28/2039   CL        AUD
Kaisa Group Holdings 10.9      9.1                   KY        USD
Fospar S/A            6.5      1.3      05/15/2026   BR        BRL
Frigorifico           7.7     71.1      07/21/2028   PY        USD
Frigorifico           7.7     71.4      07/21/2028   PY        USD
Galaxy Digital        3       62.5      12/15/2026   KY        USD
Generacion            9.9     73.1      12/01/2027   AR        USD
Generacion           12.5      0        02/16/2024   AR        USD
Gol Finance Inc       8.8     40.5                   KY        USD
Gol Finance Inc       8.8     42                     KY        USD
Goldman Sachs         2.3     75.9      06/30/2040   KY        EUR
Greenland Hong Kong  10.2     45.9                   KY        USD
Guacolda Energia SA   4.6     40.8      04/30/2025   CL        USD
Guacolda Energia SA   4.6     40.8      04/30/2025   CL        USD
Earls Eight           1.7     71.4      06/20/2032   KY        AUD
Ecopetrol SA          4.6     75        11/02/2031   CO        USD
Ecopetrol SA          5.9     63.9      11/02/2051   CO        USD
Ecopetrol SA          5.9     65.5      05/28/2045   CO        USD
Lani Finance          3.1     68.6      10/19/2048   KY        AUD
Lani Finance          1.9     63.3      10/19/2048   KY        EUR
Lani Finance          1.7     60        03/14/2049   KY        EUR
Lani Finance          1.9     62.3      09/20/2048   KY        EUR
QNB Finance           3.4     75.4      10/21/2039   KY        AUD
QNB Finance          13.5     55.7      10/06/2025   KY        TRY
QNB Finance           2.9     75.3      12/04/2035   KY        AUD
Ruta del Maipo        2.3     53.5      12/15/2024   CL        CLP
Santander Consumer    2.9     73.1      11/27/2034   CL        AUD
Seagate HDD Cayman    3.4     73.4      07/15/2031   KY        USD
Seazen Group          4.5     63.6      07/13/2025   KY        USD
Silk Road Investments 2.9     68.8      01/23/2042   KY        AUD
Simpar Finance       10.8     73.8      02/12/2028   BR        BRL
Simpar Finance       10.8     73.8      02/12/2028   BR        BRL
Skylark               1.8     58.2      04/04/2039   KY        GBP
Tencent Holdings      3.8     74.1      04/22/2051   KY        USD
Tencent Holdings      3.9     72.3      04/22/2061   KY        USD
Tencent Holdings      3.2     66.2      06/03/2050   KY        USD
Tencent Holdings      3.2     66.5      06/03/2050   KY        USD
Tencent Holdings      3.3     63        06/03/2060   KY        USD
Tencent Holdings      3.3     63.5      06/03/2060   KY        USD
Three Gorges Finance  3.2     74.2      10/16/2049   KY        USD
Chile  Bond           1.3     52        01/22/2051   CL        EUR
Chile  Bond           3.1     66.9      01/22/2061   CL        USD
Chile  Bond           1.3     65.4      01/29/2040   CL        EUR
Chile  Bond           1.3     71.2      07/26/2036   CL        EUR
Chile  Bond           3.3     66.6      09/21/2071   CL        USD
KWG Group Holdings    7.4     15.8      01/13/2027   KY        USD
KWG Group Holdings    6       40.8      01/14/2024   KY        USD
KWG Group Holdings    5.9     22.2      11/10/2024   KY        USD
KWG Group Holdings    6.3     17.6      02/13/2026   KY        USD
KWG Group Holdings    7.4     26.5      03/05/2024   KY        USD
KWG Group Holdings    6       19.4      08/10/2025   KY        USD
KWG Group Holdings    6       16.8      08/14/2026   KY        USD
KWG Group Holdings    7.9     27.5      08/30/2024   KY        USD
KWG Group Holdings    7.9     60.2      09/01/2023   KY        USD
Telecom Argentina SA  1       56.5      02/10/2028   AR        USD
Telecom Argentina SA  1       64.2      03/09/2027   AR        USD
eHi Car Services      7       64.9      09/21/2026   KY        USD
YPF SA                1       69.8      01/10/2026   AR        USD
YPF SA                7       61.6      12/15/2047   AR        USD
YPF SA                7       61        12/15/2047   AR        USD
UEP Penonome II SA    6.5     73.6      10/01/2038   PA        USD
UEP Penonome II SA    6.5     74.1      10/01/2038   PA        USD
Guaranteed            5.4     73.7      01/29/2038   KY        USD
Guaranteed            5.3     71.9      03/23/2038   KY        USD
Helenbergh China      8       32.9      11/07/2024   KY        USD
             
Agile Group Holdings  6.1     41        10/13/2025   KY        USD
Agile Group Holdings  5.5     45        04/21/2025   KY        USD
Agile Group Holdings  5.5     39.2      05/17/2026   KY        USD
Alfa Desarrollo SpA   4.6     72.1      09/27/2051   CL        USD
Alfa Desarrollo SpA   4.6     72.1      09/27/2051   CL        USD
Alibaba Group         2.7     67.4      02/09/2041   KY        USD
Alibaba Group         3.2     65.2      02/09/2051   KY        USD
Agile Group Holdings  5.8     50.2      01/02/2025   KY        USD
QNB Finance          11.5     62.1      1/30/2025    KY        TRY
SYN prop e tech SA   13.6     20.3      3/15/2024    BR        BRL
Yango Cayman          12      3.9       09/15/2023   KY        USD
MSU Energy SA         6.9     70.8      02/01/2025   AR        USD
El Salvador Bond      6.4     62.3      01/18/2027   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      6.4     62        01/18/2027   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      7.1     48.5      01/20/2050   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      7.1     48.6      01/20/2050   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      5.9     46        01/30/2025   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      7.6     49.4      02/01/2041   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      7.6     49.4      02/01/2041   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      8.6     58.1      02/28/2029   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      8.6     57.9      02/28/2029   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      8.3     56.4      04/10/2032   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      8.3     56.3      04/10/2032   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      7.7     50        06/15/2035   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      7.7     50        06/15/2035   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      9.5     54.6      07/15/2052   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      9.5     54.5      07/15/2052   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      7.6     49.9      09/21/2034   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      7.6     50        09/21/2034   SV        USD
Banda de Couro        8       69.1      01/15/2027   BR        BRL
Alibaba Group         3.3     63        02/09/2061   KY        USD
AMTD IDEA Group       4.5     52.5                   KY        SGD
AAC Technologies      3.8     68.6      06/02/2031   KY        USD
ACEN Finance          4       70.9                   KY        USD
AES Tiete             6.8      0.7      04/15/2024   BR        BRL
Agile Group Holdings 13.5      40.7                  KY        USD
Agile Group Holdings  8.4      38.1                  KY        USD
Agile Group Holdings  7.9      31                    KY        USD
Argentina Bonar Bonds 1        19.8      7/09/2029   AR        USD
Argentina Bonar Bonds 1        27.5      08/05/2023  AR        USD
Argentina Treasury    2.5      25.3      11/30/2031  AR        ARS
Argentine  Bond       0.5      19.5      07/09/2029  AR        EUR
Argentine  Bond       1        23.7      07/09/2029  AR        USD
Argentine  Bond       0.1      21.5      07/09/2030  AR        EUR
Argentine Bonos      16        72.6      10/17/2023  AR        ARS
Argentine Bonos      15.5      22.2      10/17/2026  AR        ARS
Ascent Finance        3.4      58.4      02/06/2043  KY        AUD
Ascent Finance        3.8      59.8      06/28/2047  KY        AUD
Ascent Finance        1.2      61.4      07/12/2047  KY        EUR
Astra Cumulative      1.5      60.6      11/01/2029  KY        USD



                           *********


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 2023.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2746.

This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or
publication in any form (including e-mail forwarding, electronic
re-mailing and photocopying) is strictly prohibited without prior
written permission of the publishers.

Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to
be reliable, but is not guaranteed.

The TCR Latin America subscription rate is US$775 per half-year,
delivered via e-mail.  Additional e-mail subscriptions for members
of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription or
balance thereof are US$25 each.  For subscription information,
contact Peter A. Chapman at 215-945-7000.
.


                  * * * End of Transmission * * *