/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRLA

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRLA_Public/020227.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, February 27, 2002, Vol. 3, Issue 41 Headlines A N T I G U A & B A R B U D A LIAT: Workers Brace For Another Round Of Lay-offs A R G E N T I N A BANCO GALICIA: Govt. Denies Bailout; Turns To Creditors For Help BANCO GALICIA: S&P Issues Comments On Debt Restructuring BGN: Dresdner Faces EUR80-Mln Loss In Argentine Pullout CAMUZZI ARGENTINA/GAS PAMPEANA/SODIGAS PAMPEANA: S&P Cuts Rating EDENOR/EDESUR/TRANSENER: S&P Drops Ratings After Govt. Decree ENERSIS: Devaluation, Recession To Cost US$100 Mln ENRON: Azurix To Return Water-Sewage Concession To Buenos Aires GAS NEA: Calls In The Receivers With US$55M In Bank Debt REPSOL YPF: Dealing With Protesting Unemployed Workers TGN: S&P Cuts Ratings on IFC Trust I, Trust II Certificates B E R M U D A GLOBAL CROSSING: Neiman, Garland Files Class Action Suit GLOBAL CROSSING: Complications May Lead To Liquidation B R A Z I L CBS PREVIDENCIA: CSN Under Fire Due To Deficit VARIG: GE Proposes Plan To Help Reduce Costs, Cut Losses D O M I N I C A N R E P U B L I C AES EDE ESTE: Wants Government To Continue Providing Subsidies M E X I C O ISPAT MEXICANA: Extends Expiration Date for Exchange Offer SCOTIABANK QUILMES: Debt Restructuring Won't Affect S&P Rating T R I N I D A D & T O B A G O BWIA: To Finalize Restructuring Plan Friday CDA: Seeks Government Bailout On US$12M Loan KMART: Sub-contractors Terminate Project On Money Woes NUCOR: Iron Carbide Sends NGC Proposal To Restart Failed Plant - - - - - - - - - - ================================= A N T I G U A & B A R B U D A ================================= LIAT: Workers Brace For Another Round Of Lay-offs ------------------------------------------------- David Stuart, director of Marketing at Liat, announced that the regional airline would soon begin its second round of job cuts within a year, according to a report released by the Trinidad Guardian. "Our staff numbers have gone down by about 25 percent, but we need to go down another 15 percent," Stuart said. Stuart said in Barbados, 32 of its employees were offered severance packages, and already have been employed by the handling company that serviced Liat in that island. In Antigua, where Liat is headquartered and employment is the highest, workers already have opted for the voluntary packages. Liat is currently in negotiations for a joint venture with another company that will provide ground services to the airline and other carriers. In 2001, Liat issued a EC$30-million bond in Barbados to raise money to offer severance packages for those employees who took voluntary retirement and to purchase two second-hand Dash 8 300 aircraft. These two planes will join Liat's fleet in May and will coincide with the launch of the Company's new colors. In its efforts to be competitive, Liat also announced a new four- level fare structure. ================= A R G E N T I N A ================= BANCO GALICIA: Govt. Denies Bailout; Turns To Creditors For Help ---------------------------------------------------------------- Argentina's third largest bank, Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires SA, turned to private creditors after the government refused its bailout proposal. Galicia executives traveled to the U.S. and Europe to negotiate with international banks to convert about US$1.1 billion loans into company shares. Among the creditors that are being asked to swap loans into Galicia shares to bail out the bank are J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Standard Chartered Plc. Galicia executives were also expected to meet with other creditor banks, including Barclays Plc, Banco Santander Central Hispano SA and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA. Analysts, however, believe Galicia may have a hard time convincing private creditors to help it. J.P. Morgan Chase and other international banks have already set aside billions of dollars to cover bad loans to Argentina and Enron Corp. "It's an open question whether any bank would be willing to do this," said Jeanne del Casino, an analyst with Moody's Investors Service. The Argentine government turned down Galicia's proposal last week to convert some of Galicia's more than ARS2 billion of central bank loans into shares. "The Economy Ministry fundamentally didn't like the idea too much and prefers other alternatives that are more purely with the private sector," said Galicia board member Daniel Llambias. With 260 branches across Argentina, Galicia has seen deposits fall by ARS1.2 billion, or a fifth of its total, since December as the country defaulted on US$95 billion of bonds and devalued the peso. The bank lost ARS2.1 billion of deposits between early July and November, according to central bank documents. CONTACTS: BANCO DE GALICIA Y BUENOS AIRES Teniente General Juan D. Per>n 456, Piso 3 1038 Buenos Aires, Argentina Phone: +54-11-4343-7528 J.P. MORGAN CHASE & CO. 270 Park Avenue New York, NY 10017 Phone: (212) 270-6000 Fax: (212) 270-1648 Contacts: William B. Harrison, Jr., Chairman/CEO/ Chairman of the Exec.Com. William H. McDavid, Legal William J. Moran, Audit STANDARD CHARTERED PLC 1 Aldermanbury Sq. London EC2V 7SB, United Kingdom Phone: +44-20-7280-7500 Fax: +44-20-7280-7791 http://www.standardchartered.com Contacts: Patrick J. Gillam, Chairman Mervyn Davis, Group Chief Executive Peter N. Kenny, Group Executive Director Finance, Corporate Treasury, Taxation, Corporate Governance in the UK BANCO GALICIA: S&P Issues Comments On Debt Restructuring -------------------------------------------------------- Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires (SD/--/--), an Argentine bank, has started a round of contacts with its international creditors to restructure part of its foreign currency debt, and, if possible, to convert this debt to capital instruments. In the past three months, the bank has been sustaining large deposit withdrawals, which it has been substantially funding with Argentine Central Bank liquidity facilities. Banco Galicia remains one of the largest creditors of the Argentine federal and provincial governments. These actions will not impact Standard & Poor's counterparty credit ratings on the bank, which indicate that it is already in default on certain obligations. CONTACT: Standard & Poor's Gabriel Caracciolo Tel. +54-114-891-2100 BGN: Dresdner Faces EUR80-Mln Loss In Argentine Pullout ------------------------------------------------------- German bank Dresdner Bank AG, a subsidiary of insurance group Allianz, expects to lose some EUR80 million from its involvement in the Argentinean bank Banco General de Negocios (BGN), according to an article released by the Financial Times. Of the total amount, Dresdner Bank has had to write off EUR40 million alone on the book value of its 25 percent stake in BGN. A spokesman for Dresdner Bank declined to comment on the figures but said its Latin American unit Dresdner Bank Lateinamerika had made "sufficient provisions" for BGN in its 2001 financial accounts. Dresdner would take legal steps to recover its losses, the spokesman added. Credit Suisse Group and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. said last week that they planned to leave BGN's management board which is being investigated for allegations of money laundering. CONTACTS: BANCO GENERAL DE NEGOCIOS SA Esmeralda 120 Capital Federal 1035 Buenos Aires, Argentina Phone: 011-4394-3003 Fax: 011-4320-6138 Email: interbank@bancobgn.com URL: http://www.bancobgn.com CREDIT SUISSE GROUP P.O. Box 1 CH-8070 Z〉ich Tel. +41 (1) 212 16 16 Fax. +41 (1) 333 25 87 Contact: Lukas Muehlemann, chairman & CEO J.P. MORGAN CHASE & CO. Investor Relations J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. 270 Park Avenue New York, NY 10017-2070 (1-212) 270-6000 URL: www.jpmorganchase.com DRESDNER BANK LATEINAMERIKA AG Neuer Jungfernstieg 16 20354 Hamburg, Germany Tel.: (+49 40) 3595-0 Fax: (+49 40) 3595 3314 Telex: 214 236-0 dl d S.W.I.F.T. DRES DE HL E-Mail: public-relations@dbla.com CAMUZZI ARGENTINA/GAS PAMPEANA/SODIGAS PAMPEANA: S&P Cuts Rating ---------------------------------------------------------------- S&P downgraded its local currency and foreign currency ratings on gas distributors Camuzzi Argentina, Camuzzi Gas Pampeana and Sodigas Pampeana to 'CCC-' from 'CCC'. The action follows the February 12 government decree that gives the economy ministry 30 days to create a commission to renegotiate concession contracts and a further 120 days for the package to be presented to President Eduardo Duhaulde. S&P said this further increases pressure on already weakened utilities' creditworthiness. Uncertainty stems not only from long negotiation time, but also what the negotiations will lead to, with the effects of inflation on rates and the pass through of dollar costs to clients key issues along with service quality requirements. EDENOR/EDESUR/TRANSENER: S&P Drops Ratings After Govt. Decree ------------------------------------------------------------- Credit rating agency Standard and Poor's lowered the local currency ratings on Argentine energy utilities Transener, Edesur and Edenor to `CC' from `CCC-` and maintained a negative outlook. S&P's CC rating is the company's lowest before default. The foreign currency rating on all of these entities is 'SD' (selective default). The downgrades follow the February 12 government decree that gives the economy ministry 30 days to create a commission to renegotiate concession contracts and a further 120 days for the package to be presented to President Eduardo Duhaulde. This further increases pressure on already weakened utilities' creditworthiness, S&P said. Uncertainty stems not only from long negotiation time, but also what the negotiations will lead to, with the effects of inflation on rates and the pass through of dollar costs to clients key issues along with service quality requirements. ENERSIS: Devaluation, Recession To Cost US$100 Mln -------------------------------------------------- Enersis, Latin America's largest listed electricity group, announced that devaluation and current recession conditions would cost it more than US$100 million, or 19 percent in Argentina this year, reports the Financial Times. The announcement came after investors and stock market regulators applied increased pressure on the company to reveal the impact of the Argentine situation on its financial condition. However, about 30 percent, or US$1.2 billion, of 2001 sales came from Argentina, where Enersis controls Edesur, one of the main distributors in Buenos Aires, and a number of generation companies. Enersis shares on Friday hit an all-time low of CLP124.5, down an additional 1.58 percent from Thursday's close and more than 30 percent off for the year. The company described the fall as "exaggerated" and "bearing no relation with eventual losses in the worst of possible scenarios". However, analysts say that group profits for 2001, which will be reported this week, will be down heavily from the US$157-million posted for 2000 after losses in the fourth quarter. Apart from falling demand, unpaid bills and electricity theft in Argentina, Enersis is likely to be battered this year by the conversion of dollar-linked tariff contracts into pesos, which are now worth less than half the US currency. This means that input costs such as fuel and plant will effectively double overnight, destroying margins and eventually forcing a write-down on all assets. Dollar-denominated debts, too, become harder to service. This prompted Moody's last week to mark down Edesur's long-term foreign currency debt rating to `CC,' the lowest notch before default. However, Enersis said on Friday it remained confident that measures announced ahead of planned talks with the Argentine government would allow it "to reverse the negative impact on cash flow within a reasonable period of time". ENRON: Azurix To Return Water-Sewage Concession To Buenos Aires --------------------------------------------------------------- Officials of Azurix, an Argentine unit of bankrupt Enron Corp., revealed that the waterworks subsidiary will hand back a water and sewage concession in Argentina's most populous province on Friday citing breach of contract. "We cease operations on March 1 and return the concession to the province of Buenos Aires because after our analysis we concluded the conditions of the contract were not met," suggested an Azurix official. The waterworks subsidiary Azurix had signed a contract with the Buenos Aires province to provide water and sewage services to some 2.5 million people. Azurix won the concession in 1999 with a US$438-million bid to provide drinking water and sewers to 72 cities in Buenos Aires province for 90 years. "We paid US$438 million and invested US$200 million. The Company was seeking small compensation, about a third from the province of Buenos Aires, but it did not happen," the official said. The move was largely viewed as the first step toward declaring bankruptcy, and comes amid a four-year recession and deep economic turmoil in South America's second-largest economy. GAS NEA: Calls In The Receivers With US$55M In Bank Debt -------------------------------------------------------- Argentine gas distributor Gas NEA called in the receivers after racking up debts of US$55 million with banks abroad and ARS3 million within the local market. In 2001, the Company operating in 5 provinces in the northeast of Argentina, posted earnings of ARS10 million and losses of ARS8 million. Gaz de France, which controls 64 percent of Gas NEA, announced a reduction of its businesses in Argentina, and its intention to pay US$50 million to leave the gas operator. Gas de France other partners in the Argentine utility are Pan American (16 percent) and the Government of Entre Rios province (20 percent). REPSOL YPF: Dealing With Protesting Unemployed Workers ------------------------------------------------------ Groups of unemployed workers blocked access to 15 refineries, distilleries and offices belonging to Repsol YPF in different areas of Argentina. The disgruntled employees are demanding that the Spanish-Argentine company generate new jobs. The protests reportedly hampered normal operations of the oil company's facilities, but occurred without incident and were kept under control by a significant police contingent. Organizations of unemployed workers have been conducting a "resistance strategy" for two weeks now to demand that Repsol YPF create "55,000 genuine jobs." Oil companies in Argentina are at odds with the government over the its recent 20-percent tax on hydrocarbon exports. Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde's administration wants to keep fuel prices from rising sharply as a result of the devaluation of the peso, which has lost more than half its value against the dollar since the beginning of this year. Last Friday, the Repsol YPF group announced a 2.5-percent average increase in fuel prices to the public, a move which came after Shell and Esso in Argentina announced increases of between 3.4 and 6 percent for the different grades of gasoline they offer to consumers. Repsol YPF estimates it will have to pay an additional EUR500 million (US$430 million) in taxes over the five years the new taxes are expected to be in effect. CONTACTS: REPSOL YPF Alfonso Cortina De Alcocer, Chairman & CEO Ramon Blanco Balin, Vice Chairman Carmelo De Las Morenas Lopez, CFO Their Address: Paseo de la Castellana 278 28046 Madrid, Spain Phone +34 91 348 81 00 Home Page: http://www.repsol.com or Av. Roque S enz Pe a, 777. C.P 1364. Buenos Aires Argentina TGN: S&P Cuts Ratings on IFC Trust I, Trust II Certificates ----------------------------------------------------------- S&P lowered its ratings on the certificates of TGN IFC Trust I and TGN IFC Trust II to 'D' from double-'C' following the nonpayment by the underlying obligor, Transportadora de Gas del Norte S.A. (TGN), of the monthly principal due on both transactions on Feb. 23, 2002. On that date, TGN only made the monthly interest payments. Monthly payments are due to International Finance Corp. (IFC) for payment on the A and B loans. Payments on the IFC B loans are used to back payments on certificates issued by TGN IFC Trust I and TGN IFC Trust II. The payment default reflects the strong negative impact that changes in the tariff-setting mechanism, which followed the Argentine peso devaluation, had on TGN's cash flow. As part of these changes, the government "pesified" the company's tariffs without allowing for any compensating adjustments, which, combined with the lack of liquidity in the financial system, worsened the company's operating cash flow. Both transactions, which benefit from IFC's preferred creditor status umbrella, were downgraded on Jan. 29, 2001, to double-'C' from triple-'C'-minus following TGN's failure to make its loan payments to IFC in January. Despite the missed payments, investors of the trust certificates received their due payment from an offshore LOC supporting these deals. Default on principal was not triggered by government payment restrictions on convertibility, transfer, and debt payments, as those payments relating to preferred creditor institutions have been allowed by Central Bank through Comunicacion "A" 3471. This regulation clears up past ambiguities involving company payment transfers to multilateral agencies and allows private companies to make foreign currency-denominated debt payments to those agencies without previous authorization from the Central Bank, such as the recent interest payments made to IFC by TGN. TGN IFC Trust I issued the certificates in August 1996 in the amount of US$154.5 million. The balance of the certificates is now US$115.9 million. The missed principal payment on Feb. 23, 2002, was US$1.081 million and the interest payment made was US$0.9 million. The certificates are due to mature in July 2008. The TGN IFC Trust II certificates were issued in September 1996 for US$60.5 million. The outstanding amount of the certificates is US$45.4 million. The recently missed principal payment was US$0.42 million and the interest payment made was US$0.36 million. These certificates are also due to mature in July 2008. For more information, please contact the following analysts: Jorge Solari and Juan De Mollein, Structured Finance Buenos Aires; Diane Audino, Structured Finance New York; and Lidia Polakovic and Matias Badia, Industrial Ratings Buenos Aires. CONTACT: STANDARD & POOR'S Jorge Solari, Buenos Aires (54) 114-891-2114 Juan Pablo De Mollein, Buenos Aires (54) 114-891-2113 Diane Audino, New York (1) 212-438-2388 Lidia Polakovic, Buenos Aires (54) 114-891-2130 Pablo Lutereau, Buenos Aires (54) 114-891-2125 ============= B E R M U D A ============= GLOBAL CROSSING: Neiman, Garland Files Class Action Suit -------------------------------------------------------- A class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of all purchases of shares of Global Crossing, Ltd. (NYSE: GX) common stock between January 2, 2001 and October 4, 2001, inclusive (the "Class Period") and seeks damages for violations of federal securities laws on behalf of all investors who bought Global Crossing Ltd shares during the "Class Period." The complaint charges certain of Global Crossing's officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The complaint alleges that during the Class Period defendants improperly recorded revenue on the Company's bandwidth trading contracts, in violation of GAAP, thereby substantially overstating reported earnings. It also alleges that while the Company's shares were artificially inflated, certain individual defendants engaged in heavy insider trading, receiving proceeds of over $135 million for their personal shares. Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of Global Crossing shares during the class period of between January 2, 2001 and October 4, 2001, inclusive. CONTACT: THE NEIMAN LAW FIRM, Brooklyn Jeffrey Neiman, 866/539-3788 Email: JeffreyNeiman@Aol.Com Tel. 718/677-1430 Fax. 718/258-2937 GLOBAL CROSSING: Complications May Lead To Liquidation ------------------------------------------------------ Experts believe that complications arising from the bankruptcy proceedings of Global Crossing may result to perhaps the least desirable outcome for creditors: the Company's liquidation -- with its assets auctioned off to the highest bidders, the New York Times says. A major obstacle involves the competing interests of Global Crossing's bank lenders, consisting of a group of about 20 Wall Street firms led by J. P. Morgan Chase, and the Company's other creditors. Global Crossing, which is based in Bermuda and has executive offices in Beverly Hills, California, listed US$22 billion in assets and US$12 billion in debt when it filed for bankruptcy protection on Jan. 28, making it the fourth largest filing in U.S. history. The company owes $2.5 billion to banks, which are in the unusual position of having to line up with other creditors because the banks opted for stock instead of secured assets as collateral for loans, says the Times. "The complexity of the corporate structure at Global Crossing is such that the banks do not have first grab at everything," according to one bankruptcy expert who has been monitoring the proceedings. "This is going to be a very complicated recovery process." A spokesman for the Company, Daniel Coulter, however expressed confidence that it could emerge from bankruptcy proceedings without liquidating. =========== B R A Z I L =========== CBS PREVIDENCIA: CSN Under Fire Due To Deficit ---------------------------------------------- The Brazilian government last Wednesday said it would take over CBS Previdencia, Cia. Siderurgica Nacional's (CSN) employee pension fund, because of a BRL435-million (US$179 million) deficit. However, on Friday, the government suspended its intervention of CBS Previdencia following the a presentation and actuarial evaluation of its pension benefits. CSN, Brazil's second-largest steelmaker, and CBS Previdencia were given 120 days to review ways to cover the shortfall. This series of events has left market analysts confused about what is the actual financial state of not only the pension fund, but also CSN itself. "CSN was under pressure last week, but CSN already had a plan to amortize the amount over 30 years," said Mario Pierry, Latin America steel analyst with JP Morgan Securities. Pierry has a "market outperform" rating on CSN. Much of the fund's deficit dates from before the Brazilian government sold the steelmaker in 1993. VARIG: GE Proposes Plan To Help Reduce Costs, Cut Losses -------------------------------------------------------- Brazil's flagship airline Varig, which has been hampered by slow ticket sales and rising operating costs since the September 11 attacks, may implement a plan proposed by GE in an effort to cut costs and losses. The plan reportedly consists of a number of items designed collectively to lead to a 45-percent reduction in costs. The buying division and the area dealing with third party services have been consolidated, as well as the other areas divided between Varig's three companies, Varig, Rio-Sul and Nordeste. The Company is also beginning to institute electronic ticketing. Already, Varig has renegotiated its contracts with aircraft leasing companies and has laid off 1,700, or 10 percent, of its workforce. The next step is to take its demand for decreased taxation for the sector to the federal government. VARIG CONTACTS: VARIG Brazilian Airlines, Miami Jeff Kriendler, 305/866-2115 email: jkriendler@aol.com Legal Department: Rua 18 de Novembro nr. 800 Navegantes Zip : 90240-040 City : Porto Alegre / RS - Brazil Telephone numbers: (51) 358-7039/7040 (51) 358-7010/7042 INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS Arthur Andersen S/C Rua Alexandre Dumas 1981 Cep: 04.717-906 - Centro / Sao Paulo / S P- Brazil Tels.: (11) 5504-8200 Fax: (11) 5504-8373 INVESTOR RELATIONS MANAGER/STOCKHOLDER SERVICES Leir s Stortti E-mail: leir.stortti@varig.com.br Av. Almte. Silvio de Noronha, n 365 - Bloco "A" - s/416 Centro - Rio de Janeiro - RJ Cep.: 20021-010 Tels.: (21) 3814-5401/5402/5403/5415 Fax: (21) 3814-5543 =================================== D O M I N I C A N R E P U B L I C =================================== AES EDE ESTE: Wants Government To Continue Providing Subsidies -------------------------------------------------------------- AES's Dominican Republic unit AES Distribuidora del Este (AES Ede Este) must now fend for itself as support from its parent company in the United States has been curtailed by AES's own financial troubles. As a result, AES Ede Este is now pressuring the government to continue subsidizing power distribution in slum areas where most consumers do not pay for the service. Power distribution was privatized with the understanding that the companies would likely sustain losses over a three-year period while they signed on consumers in these areas. Now the companies want to continue blacking out entire neighborhoods, affecting both those who pay their monthly power bills and those who do not. Reports have it that the Company's decision to step up the hours of power outages in these areas comes at a time when the government is reviewing a controversial decision. A recent resolution established an illegal toll in favor of the distributors and against large companies that had been authorized to purchase power directly from generators. AES Ede Este complains of losses of more than DOP37.5 million per month for power delivered but not paid for in the barrios. =========== M E X I C O =========== ISPAT MEXICANA: Extends Expiration Date for Exchange Offer ---------------------------------------------------------- Ispat International N.V. ("Ispat"), (NYSE: IST US; AEX: IST NA), today announced that Ispat Mexicana, S.A. de C.V. ("Imexsa"), Ispat's Mexican operating subsidiary, has extended its exchange offer for all outstanding 101/8% Senior Structured Export Certificates due 2003 of Imexsa Export Trust No. 96-1 (the "Senior Certificates"). The exchange offer will now expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on February 28, 2002, unless otherwise extended or terminated by Imexsa (the "Expiration Date"). The exchange offer was originally scheduled to expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on February 22, 2002. Under the terms of the exchange offer, Imexsa has offered to exchange its 101/8% Senior Notes due 2008 (the "Senior Notes") for Senior Certificates validly tendered and accepted for exchange. The Senior Notes will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Ispat on a senior unsecured basis. The exchange offer is conditioned upon the holders of not less than 95% of the outstanding principal amount of Senior Certificates having validly tendered and not withdrawn their Senior Certificates prior to the Expiration Date and upon the other terms and conditions set forth in Imexsa's Offering Memorandum and Consent Solicitation Statement dated January 24, 2002. In connection with the exchange offer, Imexsa is soliciting consents from holders of Senior Certificates to amend the agreements governing the Senior Certificates. Holders tendering their Senior Certificates in the exchange offer must also deliver consents. Consents may not be withdrawn after the earlier of (i) the Expiration Date, or (ii) such time as the requisite consents required to amend the agreements governing the Senior Certificates are received. Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein is the dealer manager and solicitation agent and D.F. King & Co., Inc. is the information agent for the exchange offer and consent solicitation. Requests for documentation should be made to D.K. King & Co., Inc. at (800) 847-4870. Questions regarding the transaction should be directed to Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein at (212) 969-2700. This announcement is not an offer to purchase or a solicitation of consents with respect to any Senior Certificates or an offer of Senior Notes for sale. Securities may not be offered and sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration. Any public offering of securities to be made in the United States must be made by means of a prospectus that may be obtained from the issuer or selling security holder and will contain detailed information about the company and management, as well as financial statements. CONTACT: ISPAT INTERNATIONAL LIMITED Annanya Sarin, Head of Communications Tel. +44-20-7543-1162, or +31-10-404-6738 or T. N. Ramaswamy, Director, Finance Tel. +44-20-7543-1174 CITIGATE DEWE ROGERSON FOR ISPAT INTERNATIONAL LIMITED John McInerney, Investor Relations Tel. +1-212-419-4219 SCOTIABANK QUILMES: Debt Restructuring Won't Affect S&P Rating -------------------------------------------------------------- Standard & Poor's said Friday that Scotiabank Quilmes S.A.'s announcement that its restructuring of three floating notes will have no effect on the bank's rating. The bank announced today that in light of the difficult and uncertain economic environment, it started the process of restructuring its unpaid US$55 million zero coupon bond (Series O) together with two additional series for US$55 million (Series N) and US$35 million (Series C), due today and on June 14, 2002, respectively. The terms of the restructuring have not yet been announced. On Dec. 3, 2001, Standard & Poor's lowered its counterparty credit ratings on several Argentine banks to Selective Default ('SD') following the imposition of limitations on cash withdrawals of bank deposits. CDs were downgraded to single-'D' from triple-'C'- plus, indicating that, according to Standard & Poor's methodology, the banks failed to return deposits under the conditions originally contracted. At that time, the ratings on Scotiabank Quilmes S.A. were downgraded to -'SDpi' from triple- 'C'-plus-pi. CONTACTS: STANDARD & POOR'S, Buenos Aires Cristian Krossler Tel. +54-114-891-2100 SCOTIABANK QUILMES Alan Macdonald Chief Executive Officer Phone: (54-11) 4338-8000 Fax: (54-11) 4338-8033 Mail: 6th Floor Gral. J.D. Peron 564 (C1038AAL) Buenos Aires Roy D. Scott Vice-President and Managing Director, Latin America Phone: (54-11) 4394-8726 Fax: (54-11) 4328-1901 Mail: P.O. Box 3955 C1000WBN Correo Central Buenos Aires, Argentina E-mail: scotiarep@sinectis.com.ar AUDITORS: KPMG LLP Av. Leandro N. Alem 1050, Piso 2 C1001AAS-Buenos Aires, Argentina +54 (11) 4316 5700 PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP Buenos Aires Office Cerrito 268 C1010AAF Buenos Aires Mail Address : Casilla de Correo Central 896 C1010AAF Buenos Aires Argentina Telephone: [54] (11) 4370 6000, 4370 6700, 4370 6900 Telecopier: [54] (11) 4370 6800, 4370 6339 Cordoba Office PricewaterhouseCoopers Boulevard Chacabuco 492 X5000IIR C>rdoba Telephone: [54] (351) 420 2300 Telecopier: [54] (351) 420 2332 ================================= T R I N I D A D & T O B A G O ================================= BWIA: To Finalize Restructuring Plan Friday ------------------------------------------- The management of Trinidad national airline BWIA is expected to determine Friday which departments will be affected by the staff- reduction plan, says the Trinidad Express. Not surprising, given the delicate nature of the situation, CEO Conrad Aleong is keeping actual figures close the vest. After grappling with the industry chaos for five months, BWIA abandoned its early optimism to announce that it had no choice but to scale back operations. Even with staff cuts, its bottom line remains troubled at best. In percentage terms, more of BWIA's 300 management positions will be made redundant, Aleong estimated. A smaller percentage of the airline's 2,241 general staff will lose their jobs. Aleong admitted that for a small airline like BWIA, 300 managers may be top-heavy. Aleong acknowledged that the airline requires trained labor and any job loss hurts the economy. However, BWIA must get its cost structure in line or go belly up, he explained. "This year is going to be about survival," he said. BWIA, which operates 15 aircraft to Caribbean destinations and North America, emerged from three quarters of profitability, posting a US$7.1-million after tax profit then plummeted into the post-September 11 downturn. Even a cash injection by the government did no more than run BWIA's operations for a few days, he added. BWIA's final financial numbers will be out by March but Aleong already knows how tough it will be. "Everything is touch and go," he said. "Our plans are all about survival." What this means is that the airline is positioning itself for a major overhaul, which includes reorganizing and maximizing technology. CDA: Seeks Government Bailout On US$12M Loan -------------------------------------------- Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) has requested the government intervention on a US$12-million loan it took out in 1999 to prepare for the Miss Universe pageant, Planning and Development Minister Dr Keith Rowley confirmed in a Trinidad Express report. Failure to pay the loan could result in confiscation of the Chaguaramas Convention Center and nine acres of land surrounding it by the Republic Bank, CDA's creditor. Republic Bank sources explained that the CDA had borrowed the money on the basis that, after the pageant, it expected the entire premises including the hotel and convention center to be rented by the Gillette Group of Companies. The Gillette group did rent the hotel and convention center as it maintains a call center in Chaguaramas. But, last month, it pulled out of the hotel citing heavy losses and blaming a continued row with Bougainvillea Restaurant. The restaurant is apparently contracted to provide food and beverage for the hotel. Up to now, the CDA has not been able to find another partner to rent or lease the hotel. "I don't have sufficient information about what has been happening at the CDA and I have asked the new chairman, Mr. Renwick Nickie, to produce a report for me as soon as he gets his instruments of appointment so I can deal with the situation in a more holistic way," Rowley said. KMART: Sub-contractors Terminate Project On Money Woes ------------------------------------------------------ Sub-contractors have pulled the plug on the US$25-million Super Kmart in Trinicity, 12 miles east of Trinidad's capital Port-of- Spain, due to money problems. Conrad Sabga, chief executive officer of Beaver Construction Ltd (BCL), the firm, which was awarded the contract for the project, admitted that the sub-contractors hired by his company were owed several million dollars. "Some of our sub-contractors are being very cautious about expending any further efforts on the project until specific guarantees can be given," Sabga said. "If anybody should be concerned it should be Beaver. I'm not concerned...I'm very optimistic about Kmart resolving these issues. I am doing everything in our power for the sub- contractors," Sabga added. "Most of them have been paid a significant portion of their money and payment for the balance, which is a fraction of US$25- million, is in the pipeline," he added. Sabga said he was in daily contact with Kmart, adding that only the internal refrigeration and dry works, like fittings and partitions, were to be completed. "The project is 80 percent complete. We were supposed to hand over to the Kmart marketing people on April 1 and it was due to open in June," Sabga revealed. Kmart, the third-largest discount retail chain in the United States, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings on January 22. NUCOR: Iron Carbide Sends NGC Proposal To Restart Failed Plant -------------------------------------------------------------- Frank Stephens, president of Iron Carbide Holdings Ltd of Colorado, USA, sent a proposal to the National Gas Company (NGC) aimed at restarting Nucor's failed Iron Carbide Plant in Point Lisas Industrial Estate, Trinidad. The failed Nucor project was shut down in 1998 due to unending technical difficulties and a depressed steel market. Stephens said the plant's capabilities had not been utilized in the right way and that given the chance, he can get it delivered. Stephens boasted his company not only has the technological capacity and know-how to get the US$60 million Nucor plant restarted but can "make a profit in the current depressed iron industry". All Iron Carbide would need is to raise about US$25 million to re-open the plant whose assets were bought by NGC late last year. In return for his company's plan to make Nucor viable, Stephens says all it wants is royalties from the high-quality iron carbide produced at the facility. Stephens revealed his company had wanted to buy Nucor but was not affiliated with the right financial support and it was snapped up by the NGC. *********** 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 American is a daily newsletter co-published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Trenton, NJ, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington, DC. John D. Resnick, Edem Psamathe P. Alfeche and Fe Ong Va､o, Editors. Copyright 2002. 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 $575 per half-year, delivered via e-mail. 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