250514.mbx

250514.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 Wednesday, May 14, 2025, Vol. 26, No. 96 Headlines A R G E N T I N A GAUCHO GROUP: Nasdaq Completes Delisting of Securities GRUPO ALBANESI: Approaches Creditors After Missed Bond Payment C A Y M A N I S L A N D S GLOBAL FIDELITY: Chapter 15 Case Summary D O M I N I C A N R E P U B L I C DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Abinader Urges U.S. to Lift Tariffs on Exports J A M A I C A JAMAICA: Unprepared for Turbulent & Changing US Trade Policies NCB FINANCIAL: Partial Sale of Clarien Group Falls Through P E R U PERU: Interest Rate Cut to 4.5% Signals Response to U.S. Tariffs - - - - - ================= A R G E N T I N A ================= GAUCHO GROUP: Nasdaq Completes Delisting of Securities ------------------------------------------------------ The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (the Exchange) disclosed in a 25-NSE that it has determined to remove from listing the security of Gaucho Group Holdings, Inc. Based on review of information provided by the Company, Nasdaq Staff determined that the Company no longer qualified for listing on the Exchange pursuant to Listing Rules 5101, 5110(b), and IM-5101-2. The Company was notified of the Staff determination on November 13, 2024. The Company did not file an appeal. The Company securities were suspended on November 18, 2024. The Staff determination to delist the Company securities became final on November 18, 2024. About Gaucho Group Holdings, Inc. Gaucho Group Holdings, Inc. is a Delaware holding company headquartered in Miami, Fla., which owns certain subsidiaries including operating companies that own a winery, boutique hotel and real property in Argentina. Gaucho filed Chapter 11 petition (Bankr. S.D. Fla. Case No. 24-21852) on November 12, 2024, with $10 million to $50 million in both assets and liabilities. Nathan G. Mancuso, Esq., at Mancuso Law, P.A. is the Debtor's legal counsel. GRUPO ALBANESI: Approaches Creditors After Missed Bond Payment -------------------------------------------------------------- Kevin Simauchi & Ignacio Olivera Doll at Bloomberg News report that two subsidiaries of Argentina's utility Grupo Albanesi have reached out to creditors after missing a payment on dollar bonds it issued just six months ago. Generacion Mediterranea SA and Central Termica Roca SA are approaching bondholders to resolve a dispute over US$19 million in interest that came due on May 5, the companies said in a regulatory filing, according to Bloomberg News. Debt holders have yet to organise a formal creditors committee, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private, Bloomberg News notes. Investors have ditched the bonds since the companies disclosed they would miss the payment at the end of April, Bloomberg News relays. The US$350-million notes due 2031 - jointly issued by the two subsidiaries in October - have tumbled some 28 cents to trade at 60 cents on the dollar, according to Trace data, Bloomberg News discloses. The rout has turned the notes into one of the worst performers among Argentine peers this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Company officials have a 30-day grace period to settle the outstanding dues or risk entering into default, the report notes. If talks fail, Albanesi could join a swath of firms that have struggled under President Javier Milei's austerity campaign that has included cuts to subsidies and a lifting of currency controls, Bloomberg News relays. "We cannot say that we are surprised," the report quotes Diego Mendez, a strategist for Buenos Aires-based brokerage PPI as saying in a note. "For a few years, we have signalled that its solvency was at least questionable, given that it showed by far the worst credit ratios in the industry, and even compared to other sectors." The subsidiaries have tapped Finanzas & Gestion SA and Rothschild & Co as financial advisers, as well as Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP as legal counsel abroad, according to a regulatory filing, Bloomberg News relays. A spokesperson for Albanesi declined to comment beyond the document. The missed payment comes after the electricity generator invested heavily in two of its thermal power plants and started building a new one, crimping its balance sheet, Bloomberg News discloses. Albanesi, the parent company, booked a pre-tax loss of US$190 million in 2024, compared with a pre-tax loss of US$35 million the year before, Bloomberg News relays. Its ratio of net debt to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation stood at more than 8.5 times at the end of 2024, up from 8.1 in 2023 and 4.57 in 2022, according to filings, Bloomberg News notes. Adding to the woes was a dispute between Milei and Argentine power companies earlier this year after the administration stopped paying them as part of a push to reverse the country's budget deficit, Bloomberg News relays. Economy Minister Luis Caputo offered only half of the money the generators were owed for certain dispatches to state electricity wholesaler Cammesa, Bloomberg News relays. The companies, among them Pampa Energia SA and Central Puerto SA, reluctantly accepted, but Albanesi was already mired in a liquidity crunch, Bloomberg News notes. Cash and cash equivalents fell to some US$2.46 million in 2024 from US$42 million the year before, Bloomberg News discloses. Still, the decision to renege on its obligations came as a surprise to some analysts given that executives had made strides to strengthen its balance sheet, Bloomberg News says. Albanesi tapped bankers in October to refinance some debt and issued new senior secured notes which it now has failed to pay interest on, Bloomberg News discloses. "Albanesi has been walking a fine line for quite some time, but the update was a bit unexpected considering that the successful debt exchange conducted last October seemed to give the company some breathing room," said Ezequiel Fernandez, head of credit and equity research at Balanz Capital, Bloomberg News relays. Fitch analysts in October wrote that Ebitda was expected to rise to US$270 million in 2025, compared with the US$182 million the company reported for 2024, Bloomberg News notes. Albanesi also sold local bonds and took out a US$59-million syndicated loan in January to cancel bank lines and rolling debt, Bloomberg News relays. Those factors "had made us comfortable that, though tricky, this would be a year of improvement for the company," said Alejandra Andrade, a Latin America Corporate Research Analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co, who maintains a neutral rating on Albanesi's notes, Bloomberg News notes. For now, strategists remain on watch for how the company will emerge from the debacle, Bloomberg News discloses. Albanesi's bonds have pared back some of their losses in the days following the missed interest payment, a possible sign that the power generator may have an easier time dealing with creditors, Bloomberg News says. "This seems to reflect that at least a part of the market could be considering a less adversarial, out-of-court agreement with creditors as the more likely scenario," Balanz's Fernandez said, Bloomberg News adds. =========================== C A Y M A N I S L A N D S =========================== GLOBAL FIDELITY: Chapter 15 Case Summary ---------------------------------------- Chapter 15 Debtor: Global Fidelity Bank Harbour Centre, 159 Mary Street 2nd Floor George Town Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands Business Description: Global Fidelity Bank, licensed by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, operated from November 2014 until its liquidation in July 2021. The bank offered services such as deposits, treasury management, and lending. Following regulatory pressure in 2018 and the collapse of a major depositor in June 2021, the institution was placed into official liquidation by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. Foreign Proceeding: Grand Court of the Cayman Islands Financial Services Division: No. 168 of 2021 Chapter 15 Petition Date: April 29, 2025 Court: United States Bankruptcy Court Southern District of Florida Case No.: 25-14799 Judge: Hon. Erik P Kimball Foreign Representatives: Michael Pearson and Nicola Cowan 10, Market Street, #769 Grand Cayman, KY1 9006 Cayman Islands Foreign Representatives' Counsel: Leyza B. Florin, Esq. Juan J. Mendoza, Esq. Miguel E. Del Rivero, Esq. SEQUOR LAW, P.A. 1111 Brickell Avenue, Suite 1250 Miami, FL 33131 Tel: (305) 372-8282 Email: lflorin@sequorlaw.com jmendoza@sequorlaw.com mdrivero@sequorlaw.com Estimated Assets: Unknown Estimated Debt: Unknown A full-text copy of the Chapter 15 petition is available for free at PacerMonitor.com at: https://www.pacermonitor.com/view/FZZVGMA/Global_Fidelity_Bank__flsbke-25-14799__0001.0.pdf?mcid=tGE4TAMA =================================== D O M I N I C A N R E P U B L I C =================================== DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Abinader Urges U.S. to Lift Tariffs on Exports ------------------------------------------------------------------ Dominican Today reports that President Luis Abinader called for the elimination of 10% tariffs on Dominican exports to the United States during a recognition ceremony held by the Congressional Institute of Ethno-Hispanic Leadership. He emphasized that removing these trade barriers would boost bilateral commerce and support economic growth in the region, according to Dominican Today. The president also promoted the Dominican Republic as a prime destination for investment, citing a significant drop in homicide rates as a key indicator of improved national security, the report notes. He underscored the country's strategic role as the U.S.'s top Caribbean ally in combating transnational crime, noting its leadership in extraditions per capita and strengthened collaboration with the DEA since 2020, the report relates. 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. S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'BB' long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on the Dominican Republic on December 3, 2024. The outlook remains stable. S&P also affirmed its 'B' short-term sovereign credit ratings and kept the transfer and convertibility (T&C) assessment unchanged at 'BBB-'. Fitch, on November 26, 2024, affirmed the Dominican Republic's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB-'. The Rating Outlook is Positive. Moody's credit rating for Dominican Republic was last set at Ba3 in August 2023 with the outlook changed to positive. ============= J A M A I C A ============= JAMAICA: Unprepared for Turbulent & Changing US Trade Policies -------------------------------------------------------------- Jamaica Observer reports that Opposition Spokesman on Trade, Industry, Investment & Global Logistics, Anthony Hylton has warned that Jamaica is "caught in the turbulence of changing US foreign and trade policies [and left] unprepared and exposed". According to Hylton, this is happening at a time when the Holness Administration has, "minimised Jamaica's role in Caricom, failed to exercise its leadership of external trade negotiation within Caricom to conclude any new trade agreement, and squandered valuable opportunities," according to Jamaica Observer. "The administration's refusal to engage with potential partners such as the African Continental Free Trade Area and the African Export-Import Bank is not only short-sighted but detrimental to our economic sovereignty and national well-being," Hylton stated, the report notes. He was speaking in the House of Representatives during his contribution to the 2025/26 Sectoral Debate, the report relays. "The across the board 10 per cent tariff on global and domestic exports to the United States, as well as the threatened further increase of tariff on specific sectors, will shortly see prices rising on raw materials, intermediate and finished goods to Jamaica and the Caricom region. The prospects for import-driven price inflation loom large, as a result of tariff-driven policies", said Hylton, the report discloses. He added that, "Jamaica has abandoned Caricom and is focused exclusively on its own interest over the strategic and collaborative benefit that is possible through regional cooperation. "Pursuing, it seems, not simply a Jamaica-first strategy, but a Jamaica alone strategy," the report relates. Hylton pointed to the European Union as a prime example of regional cooperation in action, and noted that the African Union is finding common ground, the report relays. "This Government is into Jamaican exceptionalism," he remarked, the report discloses. "While the Holness Administration fiddles, there is a fire burning in the distance which cannot be seen by a government that lacks vision." He questioned why was nothing done to safeguard Jamaica's economic interests, the report notes. "Not a single mitigation strategy shared with the Jamaican people. Instead, the Minister of Industry, Investment & Commerce [Senator Aubyn Hill] boasts of his many foreign jaunts, with businesspersons in tow, was destined to fail to generate the investments he said he went in search of," said Hylton, the report discloses. "This was predictable, as the necessary groundwork to prepare for these visits were never done. No new bilateral investment treaty; no new double taxation agreement; nor any new trade agreement were entered into with those countries whose markets he was targeting, either before or after those visits. No new route to market or market opening agreement was achieved by the minister and his touring party, or the government." According to the Opposition spokesman, the minister has responded with excuses, the report says. "Excuses do not protect jobs. Excuses do not build resilience. And the Opposition is again, demanding an accounting for the trips taken and the cost-benefit to the Jamaican taxpayers," Hylton added. "As Jamaica faces pressing economic and social challenges, the JLP government has been prioritising its own interests over the welfare of the nation, reminiscent of the ancient Roman Empire's internal decay while the city of Rome burned," he concluded, the report relays. 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. On Feb. 21, 2025, Fitch Ratings affirmed Jamaica's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB-', with a positive rating outlook. In October 2023, Moody's upgraded the Government of Jamaica's long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings to B1 from B2, and senior unsecured shelf rating to (P)B1 from (P)B2. The outlook has been changed to positive from stable. In September 2024, S&P affirmed 'BB-/B' longterm foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Jamaica and revised outlook to positive. NCB FINANCIAL: Partial Sale of Clarien Group Falls Through ---------------------------------------------------------- Jamaica Observer reports that the deal for the partial sale of Clarien Group Limited by NCB Financial Group Limited (NCBFG) to Cornerstone Financial Holdings Limited (CFHL) has expired with the involved parties deciding not to extend the transaction. The disclosure was posted on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) after market hours, according to Jamaica Observer. The share purchase agreement (SPA) was executed on June 11, 2024, and would have seen NCBFG sell a little over 30 per cent of its stake in Clarien Group to CFHL, the report notes. The stake would have taken CFHL's ownership in Clarien to a just-over 70 per cent stake. Portland Private Equity Limited (PPE) was expected to exit its investment in Clarien upon the consummation of this sale, the report relays. Clarien Group paid a US$3.75-million dividend in 2024 with NCBFG collecting US$1.88 million from that payment, the report discloses. This was the first dividend paid by Clarien since NCBFG acquired its majority stake in December 2017, the report recalls. The payment was made as Clarien Group grew revenue by 30 per cent to $17.88 billion during 2024 with net profit rising by 28 per cent to $2.21 billion, the report notes. Clarien Group's asset base as of September 2024 was $219.30 billion with $196.97 billion in liabilities, the report says. The non-controlling interest in Clarien Group was valued at $13.03 billion in 2024, the report relays. This is NCBFG's second major deal to fall through in the last year, the report discloses. NCBFG tried to sell NCB (Cayman) Limited to Berkley Financial Holdings Limited, a private British company after entering a share purchase agreement in February 2024. However, NCBFG announced that the deal was terminated in January due to a failure to complete the agreement within the specified time and manner contemplated by both parties, the report relays. The sale of Clarien and NCB (Cayman) was part of the broader capital reallocation strategy being spearheaded by current NCBFG Chief Executive Officer Malcolm Almeida, the report notes. That strategy has involved reallocating capital across the group, bringing down the cost to income ratio and cutting down debt across the group. However, the different capital strategies being executed by NCBFG have not played out as expected, the report discloses. Apart from the sale of Clarien and NCB (Cayman), NCBFG attempted to raise $5.097 billion in its June 2024 additional public offering (APO) but fell short as investors only gave the financial conglomerate $2.5 billion in new equity capital, the report relays. NCBFG did not declare a dividend last quarter (January to March) with respect to its first quarter (October to December) results, the report notes. It is also actively refinancing maturing debt with the 2024 audited financials revealing that NCBFG, the stand-alone holding company, had $62.99 billion of its debt deemed as current in the ongoing 2025 financial year, including $13.41 billion owed to NCB Global Holdings and other parties, the report discloses. The only sale that has been successfully completed in the NCB Financial Group has been that of Thoma Exploitatie B.V., a Dutch subsidiary of Trinidad and Tobago-based insurer Guardian Holdings Limited (GHL), to UK insurer PIB Group Limited on January 24, the report notes. GHL's first quarter numbers revealed that it sold the Dutch insurance brokerage business for TT$888.01 million ($20.60 billion) with GHL recording a TT$651 million ($15.10 billion) gain on sale on its income statement, the report relays. NCBFG will report this gain on sale on its consolidated second quarter (Q2) financials, the report says. NCBFG is set to have its earnings call after publishing its Q2 report. This earnings call will include Almeida, NCBFG Group Chief Financial Officer Malcolm Sadler and other group executives, the report relays. NCBFG closed at $46.04 which leaves it down nine per cent in 2025 with a market capitalisation of $118.99 billion, the report adds. The NCB Financial Group Limited is a financial services conglomerate operating in the Caribbean region and headquartered in Kingston, Jamaica. NCB Financial Group Limited is the parent company of the National Commercial Bank of Jamaica, the largest and most profitable financial institution in Jamaica. It is also the majority shareholder of Guardian Holdings Limited, one of the largest insurance providers in the Caribbean, and of Clarien Group Limited, a banking and investment management services provider based in Bermuda. The company is listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange and Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on March 14, 2025, Fitch Ratings has affirmed National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited's (NCBJ) Long-Term and Short-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'BB-' and 'B', respectively. Fitch has also affirmed NCBJ's Viability Rating (VR) at 'bb-'Fitch has additionally affirmed NCB Financial Group Limited's (NCBFG) Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency IDRs and Short-Term Foreign and Local Currency IDRs at 'B+' and 'B', respectively. The Rating Outlook for both NCBJ and NCBFG's Long-Term IDRs is Positive. The Positive Outlook on the Long-Term IDRs is aligned with the Positive Outlook on Jamaica's sovereign rating and reflects Fitch's expectations of continued improvement in the Operating Environment (OE). ======= P E R U ======= PERU: Interest Rate Cut to 4.5% Signals Response to U.S. Tariffs ---------------------------------------------------------------- Rio Times Online reports that the Central Reserve Bank of Peru reduced its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.5% on May 8, 2025, as confirmed by the bank's official statement. The board's decision followed four months of holding rates steady and came as a response to mounting external risks and a modest uptick in domestic inflation, according to Rio Times Online. The move surprised many analysts, who expected the rate to remain unchanged, the report notes. Peru's annual inflation rate reached 1.65% in April 2025, up from a 1.28% low in March, but still within the central bank's 1–3% target range for the thirteenth consecutive month, the report relays. Price increases in food, recreation, and services drove the rise, reflecting sector-specific pressures rather than broad-based overheating, the report discloses. Despite this, Peru's inflation remains the lowest among major Latin American economies, giving policymakers room to maneuver, the report says. The U.S. government imposed a 10% tariff on all imports from April 5, 2025, affecting Peru as its second-largest trading partner, the report notes. The tariffs target key export sectors, including agriculture and textiles, and threaten nontraditional products such as fruits and vegetables, the report relays. Copper, a major Peruvian export, also faces potential tariffs, the report discloses. The Peruvian government responded by sending negotiators to Washington, aiming to protect its export interests and maintain trade flows, the report notes. Economic growth in Peru has slowed, with activity rising 2.7% year-on-year in February 2025, below expectations and before the new tariffs took effect, the report discloses. The Ministry of Finance revised its 2025 growth forecast down to 3.5%, the report relays. Private consumption remains robust, but uncertainty from trade tensions and upcoming elections clouds the outlook, according to the report. Despite these challenges, Peru's fundamentals remain solid, the report relays. Public debt is low, international reserves are strong, and the country retains access to capital markets, the report says. The Peruvian sol has appreciated, supported by high export prices, though some depreciation is expected as elections approach, the report notes. The fiscal deficit is projected to fall from 3.5% to 2.4% of GDP in 2025, the report relays. The central bank's rate cut aims to support economic activity without fueling inflation, the report notes. Policymakers signal a data-driven approach, watching inflation and external developments closely, the report notes. Peru's response reflects a pragmatic, mercantile strategy, prioritizing stability and competitiveness as it navigates global headwinds and shifting trade dynamics, the report adds. ********* 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 2025. 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 * * *