/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRLA_Public/240111.mbx
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
Thursday, January 11, 2024, Vol. 25, No. 9
Headlines
A R G E N T I N A
ARGENTINA: Market Honeymoon Fades as Peso Pressure Builds
ARGENTINA: Proposes Peso Debt Swap That May Top US$71 Billion
YPF SA: S&P Affirms 'CCC-' Ratings on Announced Liability Mgmt.
B R A Z I L
BRAZIL: Posts $1.6 Billion Current Account Deficit in November
PETROLEO BRASILEIRO: Rethinking Asset Deals
C O L O M B I A
ECOPETROL S.A.: S&P Rates New $1.85BB Senior Unsecured Notes 'BB+'
D O M I N I C A N R E P U B L I C
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Agriculture Ministry Donates Agrochemicals
P U E R T O R I C O
TMC MANAGEMENT: Hires Homel Antonio Mercado Justiniano as Counsel
T R I N I D A D A N D T O B A G O
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: New Minimum Wage Applies to Migrants Too
- - - - -
=================
A R G E N T I N A
=================
ARGENTINA: Market Honeymoon Fades as Peso Pressure Builds
---------------------------------------------------------
Buenos Aires Times reports that investors are anticipating
Argentina's currency to come under increasing pressure weeks after
new President Javier Milei devalued it by 54 percent, a sign that
the market is souring on his initial moves.
As Milei's economic team prepares to meet with staff from the
International Monetary Fund to reset the nation's US$44-billion
program, the peso has been weakening in parallel markets used to
skirt currency controls, according to Buenos Aires Times. It
touched a fresh low, risking fanning inflation already estimated to
have surpassed 200 percent, the report notes.
Milei sharply devalued the peso his first week in office and
dismantled price controls on thousands of products, leading to
galloping price hikes, the report relays. Despite the surge, the
Central Bank changed its benchmark tool for monetary policy in a
bid to lower borrowing costs, effectively cutting interest rates to
100 percent from 133 percent to free up pesos for local banks and
strengthen demand for treasury notes, the report says.
Officials have also continued to devalue the peso - whose swings
they control - at two percent a month, a pace analysts say won't
hold long with price increases 10 times that level, the report
discloses.
"From mid-January onwards, pressures will start to appear on the
exchange front," Adrian Yarde Buller, chief economist at Facimex in
Buenos Aires, wrote in a note to clients, the report says. "We
believe that the two percent monthly crawling peg proposed by the
Central Bank is no longer sustainable," adding that he expects
investors "to dollarise portfolios," he added.
Some local investors are already heading for greenbacks, the report
relays. The parallel rate weakened for the fifth straight session,
to 1,070 per dollar - the official rate is 811, the report notes.
Slashing interest rates also had a knock-on effect to 30-day bank
deposits, one of the most common savings instruments in Argentina
that currently pays 186 percent annualized, the report discloses.
As a result, Argentines have pulled money out of deposits and into
their checking accounts, adding peso liquidity that stands to put
pressure on the currency, the report says.
The money that Argentines have in checking and savings accounts
grew by 43 percent in the first 17 days of Milei's administration,
while the money they have in fixed term deposits only increased by
three percent, according to Central Bank data through December 27,
the latest available, the relays.
"People are not rolling over their certificate deposits and placing
them in call accounts, shortening the maturity of their savings,"
Melina Eidner, an economist at local broker PPI, said in a
telephone interview. "The increased liquidity is a risk for
inflation."
While the IMF applauded Milei's first moves, the peso's looming
losses stand to resurface currency policy debates, the Achilles
heel of the country's most recent saga with the lender that began
in 2018, the report recalls.
Exporters and importers, who are largely tied to the official
exchange rate, are starting to sniff another currency selloff ahead
too, the report says. Exporters sold an average of US$147 million
per day, 40 percent less than in the first three weeks of the Milei
administration, the report notes. Importers also have repeatedly
shunned the government's auctions of bonds aimed at helping them
pay down debts owed to suppliers abroad, the report relays.
It's a major change of tone from Milei's first two weeks in office,
which marked by a rally in sovereign bonds and a calm in currency
markets, the report says. The gap between exchange rates shrank
dramatically, bonds rose to two-year highs and the government
pulled off a record sale of peso debt, the report discloses.
The Central Bank took advantage of the lull and bulked up its
foreign reserves by US$3 billion - a respite for a country that has
roughly US$1 billion in interest payments due to bondholders -
though its liabilities still surpass cash on hand, the report
notes.
"The parallel peso will weaken again in the coming months," said
Mateo Reschini, senior onshore portfolio strategist at Inviu, the
report relays. "The Central Bank will have to make another sharp
peso devaluation when it wants to get out of the exchange
restrictions. And that will undoubtedly feed back into inflation,"
he added.
About Argentina
Argentina is a country located mostly in the southern half of South
America. Its capital is Buenos Aires. Javier Milei is the current
president of Argentina after winning the November 19, 2023 general
election. He succeeded Alberto Angel Fernandez 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
0its 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.
ARGENTINA: Proposes Peso Debt Swap That May Top US$71 Billion
-------------------------------------------------------------
Buenos Aires Times reports that Argentine President Javier Milei is
proposing a local debt swap that could top US$71 billion, aiming to
stabilise the country's finances by pushing off maturities and
reducing the deficit to zero.
Economy Minister Luis Caputo and Finance Secretary Pablo Quirno
told representatives of local and foreign banks operating in
Argentina that they plan to issue new peso bonds in February to
swap for the 2024 maturities, according to four people with direct
knowledge of the meeting that took place on January 4, according to
Buenos Aires Times.
It would be the largest domestic debt rollover in Argentina's
history, surpassing a similar maneuver last year by Caputo's
predecessor, Sergio Massa, who pushed out US$28.5 billion in
maturities during his tenure, the report relays.
An Economy Ministry spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a
request for comment, the report notes. The talks are ongoing and
terms of the proposal could change, the report discloses.
Argentina's parallel exchange rate weakened for the sixth straight
session to 1,133 pesos per dollar, another record, the report
discloses.
Buenos Aires Times says that Argentine Treasury debt payments in
local currency for this year are currently estimated at 57.5
trillion pesos (US$71 billion at the official rate), according to
local brokerage GMA Capital. That includes notes with interest
payments tied to inflation, the exchange rate and fixed rate bonds,
according to GMA, which estimates that around 40% of this debt is
in the private sector, instead of public banks which are generally
forced by the government to rollover, the report discloses.
The swap would add to Milei's shock therapy measures in his first
month in office, including a 54 percent peso devaluation, mass
deregulation push and sharp spending cuts to fix a chronic deficit
at the root of inflation galloping over 200 percent that's put
nearly half the nation in poverty, the report relays. It also
shows the urgency of the challenges Milei faces: Argentina owes
Wall Street creditors nearly US$1 billion of interest payments
while it separately faces a court ruling on a US$16-billion case,
the report notes.
After the December devaluation, the central bank built back foreign
reserves by about US$3 billion and the gap between Argentina's
official and parallel exchange rates narrowed to almost 10 percent
from 200 percent, the report says. But investors now expect the
Argentine currency to come under increasing pressure in the coming
weeks as investors view some Milei policy overhauls as
unsustainable, the report discloses.
Caputo and Quirno told bankers the swap will be voluntary and the
bonds will be tailored to the banks' needs, although they will be
placed at market prices, the people said, the report relays. The
policymakers proposed issuing inflation-linked bonds maturing in
2025, 2026 and 2027 as one possible alternative for the swap, the
report notes.
The meeting with bank officials came the same day Caputo was
supposed to start talks with staff from the International Monetary
Fund who arrived in Buenos Aires to restart negotiations on the
government's US$44-billion program, the report relays. While
technical level discussions got under way, Caputo's meeting with
IMF officials got pushed for a second time, according to several
local media reports, the report notes. An IMF spokesman didn't
immediately comment on the schedule change.
About Argentina
Argentina is a country located mostly in the southern half of South
America. Its capital is Buenos Aires. Javier Milei is the current
president of Argentina after winning the November 19, 2023 general
election. He succeeded Alberto Angel Fernandez 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
0its 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.
YPF SA: S&P Affirms 'CCC-' Ratings on Announced Liability Mgmt.
---------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'CCC-' ratings on YPF S.A., which
reflect those on Argentina. The outlook remains negative.
On Jan. 5, 2024, YPF S.A. announced its intention to buy back its
outstanding 2024 bonds for up to $346 million prior to their final
maturity on April 4, 2024.
The transaction is part of a liability management that also
involves the issuance of a new secured bond due 2031. Investors who
accept the offer before January 19 will get 100% of nominal value
plus accrued interests. Investors who refuse to accept the offer
will get paid in full at maturity, in accordance to the original
promise.
This is because YPF's liquidity profile remains healthy with
sizable cash reserves of $1.3 billion as of Sept. 30, 2023, ample
access to domestic markets--as seen in domestic market debt
issuances of more than $1.1 billion throughout 2023--and debt
maturities during the year for almost $1.1 billion, including the
tendered bonds. Also, from an operational and financial standpoint,
S&P expects YPF to continue performing well in 2024.
YPF's stand-alone credit profile remains at 'b', while S&P's
ratings on Argentina cap those on the company due mainly to the
currency controls the country implemented in early 2021. They were
lifted recently, although the country's external profile remains
vulnerable.
===========
B R A Z I L
===========
BRAZIL: Posts $1.6 Billion Current Account Deficit in November
--------------------------------------------------------------
Reuters reports that Brazil posted a wider-than-expected current
account deficit in November but the figure as a proportion of gross
domestic product (GDP) continued to decrease, data from the central
bank showed.
The current account deficit in Latin America's largest economy
totaled $1.6 billion in November, according to the report.
Economists polled by Reuters expected a $400 million deficit, the
report notes. Brazil's $6.7 billion trade surplus in the month,
larger than the $4.7 billion one reported a year ago, was not
enough to offset an increase in the factor payment and service
deficits, the central bank said, the report relays.
Over the last 12 months, however, the current account deficit
continued to decrease to the equivalent of 1.56% of GDP, down from
1.59% in the previous month and 2.59% in November 2022, the report
adds.
About Brazil
Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world and third largest
in the Americas. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won the 2022 Brazilian
general election. He was sworn in on January 1, 2023, as the 39th
president of Brazil, succeeding Jair Bolsonaro.
S&P Global Ratings raised on Dec. 19, 2023, its long-term global
scale ratings on Brazil to 'BB' from 'BB-'. The outlook on the
long-term ratings is stable. S&P affirmed Brazil's global scale
short-term ratings at 'B' and its national scale long-term rating
at 'brAAA'. S&P also raised the transfer and convertibility
assessment on the country to 'BBB-' from 'BB+'. S&P said, "The
stable outlook reflects our expectation that Brazil will maintain a
strong external position, thanks to strong commodity output and
limited external financing needs. We also believe Brazil's
institutional framework can sustain stable and pragmatic
policymaking based on extensive checks and balances across the
executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. We
expect a very gradual fiscal correction but anticipate fiscal
deficits will remain large."
Fitch Ratings affirmed on Dec. 15, 2023, Brazil's Long-Term
Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB' with a Stable
Outlook. Fitch said Brazil's ratings are supported by its large and
diverse economy, high per-capita income, and deep domestic markets
and a large cash cushion that support the sovereign's financing
flexibility and its high local-currency debt share. Strong external
finances support resilience to shocks, underpinned by a flexible
exchange rate, robust international reserves and a sovereign net
external creditor position. The ratings are constrained by weak
economic growth potential, relatively low governance scores, high
and rising government debt/GDP, and budgetary rigidities. A new
fiscal framework introduced this year aims to anchor a gradual
consolidation process and address these fiscal weaknesses, but its
effectiveness is increasingly unclear.
Moody's credit rating for Brazil was last set at Ba2 in 2018 with
stable outlook. Moody's affirmed the Ba2 issuer ratings and
senior unsecured bond ratings in April 2022.
DBRS Inc., on August 15, 2023, upgraded Brazil's Long-Term
Foreign and Local Currency - Issuer Ratings to BB from BB (low).
At the same time, DBRS Morningstar confirmed Brazil's
Short-term Foreign and Local Currency - Issuer Ratings at R-4.
The trend on all ratings is Stable (March 2018).
PETROLEO BRASILEIRO: Rethinking Asset Deals
-------------------------------------------
Oliver Mason at Rio Times Online reports that Jean Paul Prates,
Petrobras CEO, paused asset sales early on in his tenure, shifting
focus to exploration and production.
This move altered the company's trajectory, previously set in 2016
to strengthen its core activities, according to Rio Times Online.
Despite initial commitments to honor past deals, recent reports
suggest buyers of assets face unexpected hurdles, as Bloomberg
Linea reports, Rio Times discloses.
Issues arose in three deals, with one leading to contract
termination, the report relays.
About Petrobras
Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. or Petrobras (in English, Brazilian
Petroleum Corporation - Petrobras) is a semi-public Brazilian
multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Petrobras control significant oil and
energy assets in 16 countries in Africa, the Americas, Europe and
Asia. But, Brazil represents majority of its production.
The Brazilian government directly owns 54% of Petrobras' common
shares with voting rights, while the Brazilian Development Bank
and Brazil's Sovereign Wealth Fund (Fundo Soberano) each control
5%, bringing the State's direct and indirect ownership to 64%.
A corruption scandal was uncovered in 2014 that involved
Petrobras.
The scandal related to money laundering that involved Petrobras
executives. The executives were alleged to get received kickbacks
from overpriced contracts, to the tune of about $3 billion in
total. Over a thousand warrants were issued against politicians
and businessmen in relation to the scandal. In 2016, Marcelo
Odebrecht, CEO of Odebrecht, was sentenced to 19 years in prison
after being convicted of paying more than $30 million in bribes to
Petrobras executives.
In January 2018, Petrobras agreed to pay $2.95 billion to settle a
U.S. class action corruption lawsuit. In September 2018,
Petrobras agreed to pay $853.2 million to settle with Brazilian and
U.S. authorities.
In July 2022, Fitch Ratings affirmed Petrobras' BB- Long-Term
Issuer Default Rating. In addition, Fitch has revised the Rating
Outlook to Stable from Negative following a similar revision to
Brazil's Sovereign Rating Outlook. Also in July 2022, Egan-Jones
Ratings Company upgraded the foreign currency and local currency
senior unsecured ratings on debt issued by Petrobras to BB+ from
BB.
===============
C O L O M B I A
===============
ECOPETROL S.A.: S&P Rates New $1.85BB Senior Unsecured Notes 'BB+'
------------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'BB+' issue rating to Ecopetrol
S.A.'s (BB+/Stable/--) proposed $1.85 billion senior unsecured
notes due 2036. The notes will rank pari passu with all Ecopetrol's
other present and future senior, unsecured, and unsubordinated
obligations.
S&P views the transaction as debt neutral because Ecopetrol will
use the proceeds to repay the outstanding $1.2 billion 4.125% notes
due Jan. 16, 2025, and finance expenditures outside the investment
plan (including refinancing of other maturities). S&P maintains its
forecast of an adjusted-debt-to-EBITDAX ratio below 2x in the next
12-18 months.
===================================
D O M I N I C A N R E P U B L I C
===================================
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Agriculture Ministry Donates Agrochemicals
--------------------------------------------------------------
Dominican Today reports that in a significant move to bolster one
of the Dominican Republic's key export sectors, the Ministry of
Agriculture has provided a substantial donation of high-quality
agrochemicals to the Tobacco Institute (INTABACO).
This initiative, involving the distribution of one thousand liters
of agrochemicals, is aimed at enhancing the quality of the tobacco
crop, ensuring that it meets both local and international market
standards and remains pest-free, according to Dominican Today.
The gesture, led by Agriculture Minister Limber Cruz, is part of a
broader effort to support local tobacco producers and maintain the
high standing of Dominican tobacco on the global stage, the report
notes. Known for its premium quality, Dominican tobacco has
garnered numerous international accolades, the report relays.
The agrochemicals were handed over by Pedro Trinidad Ledesma, the
Northern Regional Director of the Ministry, to Rafael Almonte, the
Director of Intabaco, the report says. The exchange signifies a
collaborative effort between various representatives from both
Intabaco and the Ministry of Agriculture, including Radhames Diaz,
Tirso Ramírez, Fatima Santos, and Juan Ramos, the report relays.
Dominican tobacco, predominantly cultivated in the Santiago
province, attributes its renowned quality to the region's favorable
soil and climatic conditions, the report notes. This province
alone accounts for about 51% of the nation's tobacco cultivation,
with an additional twelve provinces contributing to its production,
the report discloses. This initiative marks a vital step in
ensuring the continued success and quality of the Dominican tobacco
industry, 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.
TCR-LA reported in April 2019 that Juan Del Rosario of the UASD
Economic Faculty cited a current economic slowdown for the
Dominican Republic and cautioned that if the trend continues,
growth would reach only 4% by 2023. Mr. Del Rosario said that if
that happens, "we'll face difficulties in meeting international
commitments."
An ongoing concern in the Dominican Republic is the inability of
participants in the electricity sector to establish financial
viability for the system.
On December 4, 2023, the TCR-LA reported that Fitch Ratings has
affirmed Dominican Republic's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer
Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB-' and revised the Outlook to Positive
from Stable. Fitch says the Positive Outlook reflects a trend
improvement in governance, and robust growth prospects that should
lead to continued gains in per capita income. According to Fitch,
growth has decelerated in 2023, but it expects Dominican Republic
to recover to high levels during 2024-2025. External liquidity
metrics have improved in recent years, and foreign currency share
of government debt is on a downward path.
In August 2023, Moody's Investors Service 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.
=====================
P U E R T O R I C O
=====================
TMC MANAGEMENT: Hires Homel Antonio Mercado Justiniano as Counsel
-----------------------------------------------------------------
TMC Management Group Inc. seeks approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court for the District of Puerto Rico to employ Homel Antonio
Mercado Justiniano, Esq. as counsel.
The firm's services include:
a) examining documents of the Debtor and other necessary
information to submit Schedules and Statement of Financial
Affairs;
b) preparing the Disclosure Statement, Plan of Reorganization,
records and reports as required by the Bankruptcy Code and the
Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure;
c) preparing Applications and proposed orders to be submitted
to
the Court;
d) identifying claims and causes of action assert able by the
Debtor-in-possession on behalf of the estate herein;
e) examining proof of claims filed and to be filed in the case
herein and the possible objections to certain of such claims;
f) advising the Debtor-in-possession and preparing documents in
connection with the ongoing operation of Debtor’s business;
g) advising the Debtor-in-possession and preparing documents in
connection with the liquidation of the assets of the estate, if
needed, including analysis and collection of outstanding
receivables and possible Motion for Sale or for Post Petition
Loans; and
h) assisting and advising the Debtor-in-possession in the
discharge of any and all the duties imposed by the applicable
dispositions of the Bankruptcy Code and the Federal Rules of
Bankruptcy Procedure.
The firm will be paid at these rates:
Attorneys $250 per hour
Associates $125 per hour
Paralegals $50 per hour
The firm will be paid a retainer in the amount of $7,000, plus
filing fee of $1,738.
The firm will also be reimbursed for reasonable out-of-pocket
expenses incurred.
As disclosed in a court filing that the firm is a "disinterested
person" as the term is defined in Section 101(14) of the Bankruptcy
Code.
The firm can be reached at:
Homel Antonio Mercado Justiniano, Esq.
Calle Ramirez Silva, Esq.
Ensanche Martinez, Esq.
Mayaguez, PR 00680-4714
Tel: (787) 831â€"2577
Fax: (787) 805-7350
Email: hmjlaw2@gmail.com
About TMC Management Group Inc.
The Debtor operates a franchise of The Taco Maker Inc which
operates a "Mexican style" food restaurant in Trujillo Alto,
Puerto
Rico.
TMC Management Group Inc. in Trujillo Alto, PR, filed its voluntary
petition for Chapter 11 protection (Bankr. D.P.R. Case No.
23-04254) on December 21, 2023, listing $58,423 in assets and
$1,284,831 in liabilities. Luis Gonzalo Benabe Negron as president,
signed the petition.
Homel Mercado Justiniano, Esq. serve as the Debtor's legal
counsel.
=====================================
T R I N I D A D A N D T O B A G O
=====================================
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: New Minimum Wage Applies to Migrants Too
-----------------------------------------------------------
Melissa Maynard at Trinidad Express reports that every worker in
the country, including undocumented migrants, must be paid the new
minimum wage of $20.50 an hour which took effect on January 1,
2024.
This according to a representative of the Ministry of Labour, who
said employers failing to comply, regardless of the company's size,
will be held liable for breaching the law, according to Trinidad
Express.
The warning came from Labour Inspector II Paula Achaibar during an
interview on TV6's Morning Edition program, the report notes.
The increase in the minimum wage by $3 from $17.50 to $20.50 was
announced in the national budget in October 2023 and enacted as law
on December 28, 2023, the report relays.
Achaibar said the new wage applies to any worker in Trinidad and
Tobago, the report discloses. "This is also applicable to our
migrant population, now it matters not whether the person is here
legally or illegally. That migrant worker is considered a worker
and once you are a worker you are entitled to the same terms and
conditions as a national . . . simply because they are workers in
Trinidad and Tobago," she said, the report notes.
To workers who report businesses that refuse to pay or companies
that victimize workers who report them, Achaibar advised: "The
Minimum Wages Act does speak to victimization of anyone trying to
get their rights or even reporting a matter to the Labour
Inspectorate Unit, so there are unions and there is the Labour
Inspectorate Unit that is here to protect those migrant workers,
those vulnerable workers as well," the report says.
She noted that any worker, including a migrant worker, can report
to the Labour Inspectorate Unit should their employer fail to pay
the minimum wage, the report notes.
"So, what we would encourage if you have a conversation with the
employer as a migrant worker and you're not getting any headway in
terms of the employer paying you the national minimum wage, then
(you) can report to us and we will go in and have a chat with the
employer," she emphasized, the report relays.
Approximately 190,000 workers will benefit from the minimum wage
increase that took effect January 1, said Achaibar, the report
says.
An employee working an eight-hour shift is entitled to no less than
$164 a day, which amounts to $820 weekly and $3,553.33 monthly,
Achaibar pointed out, the report notes.
Penalties
Achaibar stressed that businesses are obligated by law to pay the
new wage and failing to do so will result in penalties that can be
levied at the Industrial Court on businesses that do not comply
with the law, the report says.
However, Achaibar noted that the ministry works together with
employers to ensure compliance, the report relays.
Minimum wage workers are in various sectors including retail,
supermarkets, clothing stores, hardware stores, catering, bakeries,
restaurants, service stations and roti shops, to name of few, she
added.
*********
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 2024. 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 * * *