/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRLA

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRLA_Public/160107.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 7, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 4 Headlines C A Y M A N I S L A N D S EXTERNAL CORPORATION: Placed Under Voluntary Wind-Up GALLINULE FUND: Commences Liquidation Proceedings INTERNATIONAL SEAFOOD: Commences Liquidation Proceedings JAIBA INVESTMENT: Commences Liquidation Proceedings MOSAIC FUNDING: Commences Liquidation Proceedings NEW SOLAR: Commences Liquidation Proceedings PARUSKREML CAPITAL: Placed Under Voluntary Wind-Up PUNTO DOS: Commences Liquidation Proceedings SAF AM: Placed Under Voluntary Wind-Up SAF QUANTITATIVE: Placed Under Voluntary Wind-Up TAGUS FUND: Placed Under Voluntary Wind-Up UC MILESTONE: Commences Liquidation Proceedings UC SAVER: Commences Liquidation Proceedings VANITY AVIATION: Commences Liquidation Proceedings VILLAS FUNDING: Commences Liquidation Proceedings C O L O M B I A PACIFIC EXPLORATION: Creditors Extend Debt Covenants Waiver to Feb D O M I N I C A N R E P U B L I C DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Among Countries Benefiting From Cheaper Crude DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Continues to Grow, Central Bank Confirms P U E R T O R I C O PUERTO RICO: Default on $37MM of Payments Due Jan. 1 Expected PUERTO RICO: 'Safe' Debt Stirs Worries PUERTO RICO: Top Senate Republican Pushes Short-Term Aid T R I N I D A D & T O B A G O * TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Gas Exports to Spain Down 42.4% U R U G U A Y * URUGUAY: Exports Fall 11.6% in 2015 - - - - - ========================== C A Y M A N I S L A N D S ========================== EXTERNAL CORPORATION: Placed Under Voluntary Wind-Up ---------------------------------------------------- On Nov. 9, 2015, the shareholder of External Corporation resolved to voluntarily wind up the company's operations. Only creditors who were able to file their proofs of debt by Dec. 14, 2015, will be included in the company's dividend distribution. The company's liquidator is: Peter Kebble c/o Peter De Vere Campbells Willow House, Floor 4 Cricket Square, Elgin Avenue George Town, Grand Cayman Telephone: +1 (345) 949 2648 Facsimile: +1 (345) 949 8613 GALLINULE FUND: Commences Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------------------- On Nov. 13, 2015, the members of The Gallinule Fund resolved to voluntarily liquidate the company's business. Only creditors who were able to file their proofs of debt by Dec. 22, 2015, will be included in the company's dividend distribution. The company's liquidator is: CDL Company Ltd. P.O. Box 31106, 89 Nexus Way Camana Bay, Grand Cayman KY1-1205 Cayman Islands INTERNATIONAL SEAFOOD: Commences Liquidation Proceedings -------------------------------------------------------- On Oct. 22, 2015, the shareholder of International Seafood Trading Limited resolved to voluntarily liquidate the company's business. Only creditors who were able to file their proofs of debt by Dec. 10, 2015, will be included in the company's dividend distribution. The company's liquidator is: Company Secretaries Ltd. 190 Elgin Avenue, George Town Grand Cayman KY1-9005 Cayman Islands c/o Andrew Hislop Telephone: + 44 1481 211273 JAIBA INVESTMENT: Commences Liquidation Proceedings --------------------------------------------------- On Nov. 13, 2015, the members of Jaiba Investment Company resolved to voluntarily liquidate the company's business. Only creditors who were able to file their proofs of debt by Dec. 22, 2015, will be included in the company's dividend distribution. The company's liquidator is: CDL Company Ltd. P.O. Box 31106, 89 Nexus Way Camana Bay, Grand Cayman KY1-1205 Cayman Islands MOSAIC FUNDING: Commences Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------------------- At an extraordinary meeting held on Nov. 9, 2015, the members of Mosaic Funding Limited resolved to voluntarily liquidate the company's business. Only creditors who were able to file their proofs of debt by Dec. 11, 2015, will be included in the company's dividend distribution. The company's liquidator is: Westport Services Ltd. c/o Gillian Allan P.O. Box 1111 Grand Cayman KY1-1102 Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 949 5122 Facsimile: (345) 949 7920 NEW SOLAR: Commences Liquidation Proceedings -------------------------------------------- On Nov. 12, 2015, the sole shareholder of New Solar Cayman Limited resolved to voluntarily liquidate the company's business. Creditors are required to file their proofs of debt to be included in the company's dividend distribution. The company's liquidator is: Walkers Liquidations Limited Cayman Corporate Centre 27 Hospital Road, George Town Grand Cayman KY1-9008 Cayman Islands Telephone: +1 (345) 949 0100 PARUSKREML CAPITAL: Placed Under Voluntary Wind-Up -------------------------------------------------- On Nov. 11, 2015, the sole shareholder of Paruskreml Capital Management Ltd. resolved to voluntarily wind up the company's operations. Creditors are required to file their proofs of debt to be included in the company's dividend distribution. The company's liquidator is: Ken Stewart c/o Apex Fund Services (Cayman) Limited P.O. Box 10085 Grand Cayman KY1 1001 161a Artillery Court Cayman Islands PUNTO DOS: Commences Liquidation Proceedings -------------------------------------------- On Nov. 13, 2015, the members of Punto Dos Investments Limited resolved to voluntarily liquidate the company's business. Only creditors who were able to file their proofs of debt by Dec. 22, 2015, will be included in the company's dividend distribution. The company's liquidator is: CDL Company Ltd. P.O. Box 31106, 89 Nexus Way Camana Bay, Grand Cayman KY1-1205 Cayman Islands SAF AM: Placed Under Voluntary Wind-Up -------------------------------------- On Nov. 11, 2015, the sole shareholder of SAF AM Ltd. resolved to voluntarily wind up the company's operations. Creditors are required to file their proofs of debt to be included in the company's dividend distribution. The company's liquidator is: Ken Stewart c/o Apex Fund Services (Cayman) Limited P.O. Box 10085 Grand Cayman KY1 1001 161a Artillery Court Cayman Islands SAF QUANTITATIVE: Placed Under Voluntary Wind-Up ------------------------------------------------ On Nov. 11, 2015, the sole shareholder of SAF Quantitative Strategies SPC resolved to voluntarily wind up the company's operations. Creditors are required to file their proofs of debt to be included in the company's dividend distribution. The company's liquidator is: Ken Stewart c/o Apex Fund Services (Cayman) Limited P.O. Box 10085 Grand Cayman KY1 1001 161a Artillery Court Cayman Islands TAGUS FUND: Placed Under Voluntary Wind-Up ------------------------------------------ On Nov. 13, 2015, the sole shareholder of Tagus Fund Limited resolved to voluntarily wind up the company's operations. Creditors are required to file their proofs of debt to be included in the company's dividend distribution. The company's liquidator is: Acorn Management Services Company Inc. c/o Justin Savage Ogier 89 Nexus Way, Camana Bay Grand Cayman KY1-9009 Cayman Islands Telephone: +1 (345) 949 9876 Facsimile: +1 (345) 949-9877 UC MILESTONE: Commences Liquidation Proceedings ----------------------------------------------- On Nov. 13, 2015, the sole shareholder of UC Milestone, Ltd. resolved to voluntarily liquidate the company's business. Creditors are required to file their proofs of debt to be included in the company's dividend distribution. The company's liquidator is: Walkers Liquidations Limited Cayman Corporate Centre 27 Hospital Road, George Town Grand Cayman KY1-9008 Cayman Islands Telephone: +1 (345) 949 0100 UC SAVER: Commences Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------------- On Nov. 13, 2015, the sole shareholder of UC Saver, Ltd. resolved to voluntarily liquidate the company's business. Creditors are required to file their proofs of debt to be included in the company's dividend distribution. The company's liquidator is: Walkers Liquidations Limited Cayman Corporate Centre 27 Hospital Road, George Town Grand Cayman KY1-9008 Cayman Islands Telephone: +1 (345) 949 0100 VANITY AVIATION: Commences Liquidation Proceedings -------------------------------------------------- On Nov. 12, 2015, the sole shareholder of Vanity Aviation resolved to voluntarily liquidate the company's business. Only creditors who were able to file their proofs of debt by Dec. 23, 2015, will be included in the company's dividend distribution. The company's liquidator is: Ellen J. Christian c/o BNP Paribas Bank & Trust Cayman Limited Royal Bank House, 3rd Floor P.O. Box 10632 Grand Cayman KY1-1006 Shedden Road, George Town Cayman Islands e-mail: ellen.christian@bnpparibas.ky VILLAS FUNDING: Commences Liquidation Proceedings ------------------------------------------------- At an extraordinary meeting held on Nov. 9, 2015, the members of Villas Funding Limited resolved to voluntarily liquidate the company's business. Only creditors who were able to file their proofs of debt by Dec. 11, 2015, will be included in the company's dividend distribution. The company's liquidator is: Westport Services Ltd. c/o Gillian Allan P.O. Box 1111 Grand Cayman KY1-1102 Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 949 5122 Facsimile: (345) 949 7920 =============== C O L O M B I A =============== PACIFIC EXPLORATION: Creditors Extend Debt Covenants Waiver to Feb ------------------------------------------------------------------ Oscar Medina at Bloomberg News reports that Pacific Exploration & Production Corp.'s creditors granted the Colombian driller a temporary waiver on the terms of more than $1.3 billion in loans with lenders, preventing a potential default. The 61-day waiver applies to loans including a $1 billion revolving credit with a syndicate of lenders and Bank of America Corp. as administrative agent, as well as a $250 million credit agreement with HSBC Holdings Plc as the agent, according to Bloomberg News. The loan covenants require the company have a net worth, calculated by subtracting liabilities from assets, of more than $1 billion, Bloomberg News relays. "It's just kicking the can down the road," Rupert Stebbings, managing director of equity sales at Bancolombia SA, said from Medellin, Bloomberg News discloses. "I don't think they can solve this themselves, they need help to solve it, whether that be a new investors or one of the current investors stepping in to do something," Mr. Stebbings added. Bloomberg News notes that the company's dollar bonds have lost investors 71 percent in 2015, as crude plunged and the contract at its biggest field wasn't extended. Bondholder Pala Assets said last month that it's organizing an informal committee to talk to management about how the company can withstand the slump in oil prices, Bloomberg News adds. =================================== D O M I N I C A N R E P U B L I C =================================== DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Among Countries Benefiting From Cheaper Crude ----------------------------------------------------------------- Dominican Today reports that from 2012 to 2014 Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Peru, Panama, Costa Rica and Brazil were Latin America's countries which benefited the most from lower oil prices, according to a report from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The study says to a lesser extent Chile, Honduras and Nicaragua also lowered fuel prices, whereas Ecuador, Bolivia, Mexico and Argentina posted no significant decrease, according to Dominican Today. The report notes that the study "Fiscal impact of oil price volatility in Latin America and the Caribbean" by Andres Arroyo Pelaez and Fernando Cossio Munoz analyzes the impact of the fall in oil prices in the region's countries. The Industry and Commerce Ministry website reveals that at the end of December 2012 premium gasoline cost RD$231.10; Regular RD$214.00; regular diesel RD$202.60, and propane gas RD$ 91.53 per gallon, the report says. But from December 19 to 25, 2015, premium gasoline cost RD$182.40; regular RD$164.90; regular diesel RD$124.90; and propane gas RD$80.00, the report adds. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on Dec. 3, 2015, Fitch Ratings affirmed the Dominican Republic's long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'B+'. The Rating Outlooks on the long-term IDRs are revised to Positive from Stable. The issue ratings on the Dominican Republic's senior unsecured foreign and local currency bonds are affirmed at 'B+'. The Country Ceiling is affirmed at 'BB-' and the short-term foreign currency IDR at 'B'. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Continues to Grow, Central Bank Confirms ------------------------------------------------------------ Dominican Today reports that Dominican Republic's Central Bank left its monetary policy interest rate steady at 5.0 percent, and said it expects inflation to gradually converge toward the middle of its target range in 2016 after remaining around its lower limit by the end of 2015. The financial institution, which cut its rate by 125 basis points from April through June, added that the country's external accounts continue to improve in an environment of low fuel prices, a good performance of tourism, remittances and exports, according to Dominican Today. By yearend 2015, the Central Bank expected a current account deficit of around 2.0 percent of Gross Domestic Product and remain around that level in 2016, the report notes. The central bank targets inflation of 4.0 percent, plus/minus 1 percentage points, and in November headline inflation rose to 1.54 percent from 1.23 percent in October, the report relays. In 2014, the current account deficit narrowed to 3.1 percent of GDP from 3.5 percent in 2013, the report says. The Dominican peso has been slowly depreciating against the U.S. dollar since 2007 and was quoted at 45.53, down 2.7 percent in 2015, the report discloses. "Economic activity continues to grow domestically above its potential," the Central Bank said, adding that the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) forecast for growth of 6.5 to 7.0 percent for 2015 will be met, and growth in the financial sector, private sector loans in local currency were showing double-digit growth, outpacing nominal GDP growth, the report notes. The Central Bank said the increase in the federal funds rate by the U.S. Federal Reserve should contribute to increasing international interest rates and keep the appreciation of the U.S. dollar, the report adds. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on Dec. 3, 2015, Fitch Ratings affirmed the Dominican Republic's long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'B+'. The Rating Outlooks on the long-term IDRs are revised to Positive from Stable. The issue ratings on the Dominican Republic's senior unsecured foreign and local currency bonds are affirmed at 'B+'. The Country Ceiling is affirmed at 'BB-' and the short-term foreign currency IDR at 'B'. ====================== P U E R T O R I C O ====================== PUERTO RICO: Default on $37MM of Payments Due Jan. 1 Expected ------------------------------------------------------------- Michelle Kaske and Romy Varghese at Bloomberg News report that Puerto Rico was expected to default on about $37 million in bond payments due Jan. 1 and divert revenue to make others, escalating a conflict with investors as Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla seeks to restructure a $70 billion debt burden. The amount is a fraction of the almost $1 billion in interest due at the start of the year, according to Bloomberg News. The island will miss payments on $35.9 million of non-commonwealth guaranteed Puerto Rico Infrastructure Financing Authority debt and $1.4 million of Public Finance Corp. bonds, Bloomberg News relays. The money is being used to help pay investors who are owned $328.7 million of interest on general-obligation debt, Bloomberg News notes. Bloomberg News notes that Garcia Padilla has warned for weeks that if forced to choose between paying creditors and paying for essential services, he would favor his people. A skipped general- obligation payment would have marked a turning point in Puerto Rico's debt crisis because the securities are considered to have the strongest legal protections among the island's different issuers, Bloomberg News says. The commonwealth's constitution states that general-obligation bonds must be repaid before other expenses, Bloomberg News discloses. "My government has the responsibility to protect, as much as possible, Puerto Ricans from grave consequences," Garcia Padilla said in a press conference in San Juan, Bloomberg News notes. "In recent months we have put up a tough fight in Congress, looking for the tools we need. We all know that the creditors have spent a fortune lobbying against Puerto Ricans in Congress," Mr. Padilla said, Bloomberg News adds. Revenue Clawback Bloomberg News notes that Puerto Rico general-obligation bonds with an 8 percent coupon and maturing 2035 gained after the governor said the payments will be made. "In reality, this is a remarkably mild default, given the commonwealth's repeated claims about its inability to pay debt," said Daniel Hanson, an analyst at Height Securities, a Washington- based broker dealer, Bloomberg News notes. "When a debtor repeatedly claims they have no cash but then pay more than $900 million in debt service, the credibility of the debtor must be called into question," Mr. Hanson added. Bloomberg News notes that Mr. Garcia Padilla last month started redirecting revenue used to repay certain agency debt to the central government's coffers. About half of funds to make the general-obligation bond payment -- $164 million -- is coming from the clawback, Bloomberg News relays. By keeping the commonwealth's pledge to those investors, he hopes to continue negotiating with bondholders as Congress works on a plan for the island, he said. Bloomberg News notes that agencies such as the Highways & Transportation Authority and the Convention Center District Authority had said they'll use reserves to help pay their investors on Jan. 1. Holders of bonds issued by the Government Development Bank, the Public Buildings Authority, the Employees Retirement System, the Industrial Development Company and the University of Puerto Rico will also receive payments due in January, Bloomberg News relays. Bloomberg News says that the Infrastructure Financing Authority, while defaulting on some debt, will make payments that are guaranteed by the commonwealth. Holders of sales-tax revenue debt will also receive their payments -- and for the future, Bloomberg News notes. Puerto Rico doesn't have plans to clawback sales-tax collections because the government doesn't have control over that revenue, Melba Acosta, president of the GDB, said during a call with reporters, Bloomberg News discloses. Holders of sales-tax bonds, known as Cofinas, will receive the February payments totaling $200 million, Ms. Acosta said, Bloomberg News relays. May will be the next time payments will be due on debt that is subject to the clawback -- $400 million on GDB securities, she said. Initial Default Only one Puerto Rico entity has already skipped debt payments. The Public Finance Corp., which borrowed to help cover the government's budget deficits, in August failed to pay principal and interest because lawmakers didn't appropriate the funds, Bloomberg News notes. Its bonds due in 2031 trade for about six cents on the dollar, Bloomberg News relays. Because they're backed by a weaker legal pledge than other securities, there have been few repercussions, Bloomberg News discloses. Mr. Padilla in late June said the commonwealth was unable to repay all of its obligations on time and in full. Puerto Rico's economy shrank 15 percent in the past decade after federal tax breaks for U.S. manufacturers ended in 2006, taking away incentives for pharmaceutical companies and other businesses to remain on the island. Residents also left to find work on the U.S. mainland, resulting in a 9.2 percent population drop since 2004, according to U.S. Census data, Bloomberg News says. Congressional Action Bloomberg News notes that the default follows Mr. Padilla's failed attempt to persuade Congress in December to include a provision in a $1.1 trillion spending bill to allow commonwealth agencies to file for bankruptcy protection. House Speaker Paul Ryan directed committee heads to come up with a plan for Puerto Rico by the end of March. Congressional Democrats on Dec. 21 filed bills that would shield Puerto Rico from any lawsuits until then, Bloomberg News relays. Bloomberg News notes that the $3.7 trillion municipal-bond market has been anticipating a default on commonwealth debt because Puerto Rico securities have been trading at distressed levels for two years. Commonwealth debt has lost 8.1 percent in 2015 through Dec. 29, compared with a 3.3 percent gain in the broader muni market, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on Dec. 28, 2015, Moody's Investors Service has downgraded $1.09 billion of Puerto Rico appropriation bonds issued by the Public Finance Corporation (PFC) to C from Ca, while maintaining other ratings assigned to the US territory's debt. PUERTO RICO: 'Safe' Debt Stirs Worries -------------------------------------- Aaron Kuriloff at The Wall Street Journal reports that as Puerto Rico approached a Jan. 1 due date for about $1 billion in debt payments, investors increasingly were uneasy about the fate of bonds sold with a near guarantee. The bonds, backed by sales taxes and known by the Spanish acronym Cofina, were issued starting a decade ago to plug budget gaps and repay other lenders, according to The WSJ. The debt at the time was considered the island's safest offering, and Cofina bonds soon became the biggest chunk of Puerto Rico's debt outstanding, the report notes. Now, as the struggling commonwealth redirects money intended for some debt to pay bonds with better legal protections, some analysts are predicting it will soon target Cofina bonds to avoid defaulting on its constitutionally protected general-obligation debt, the report relays. Such a move would spark a showdown over its two most-sacrosanct obligations. The report notes that as a sign of the concern, many of the Cofina bonds already trade below 60 cents on the dollar, less than benchmark debt from the island. Some Cofina creditors aren't waiting for the government to act, saying in a public statement last month that any effort to use the money for other purposes without their permission would violate the U.S. and Puerto Rico constitutions, the report relays. "As one of the very few secured creditors in the Puerto Rico debt structure, we expect that our property rights will be protected," the statement said, the report notes. "If the commonwealth defaults on its general-obligation debt, then bondholders are going to sue Puerto Rico to raid the sales taxes that back Cofina," said Matt Fabian, partner at the research firm Municipal Market Analytics, the report discloses. "And if they don't pay Cofina, those bondholders will sue, saying they have a property right to that revenue above all stakeholders," Mr. Fabian added. The report notes that the looming conflict highlights the interconnectedness of Puerto Rico's debt, the complexity of the island's effort to negotiate competing legal claims on its dwindling cash and the nationwide breadth of creditor exposure to the fiscal crisis on the island. Puerto Rico owes investors about $70 billion and has struggled with a decade-long recession and declining population, leading Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla to call its debts unpayable, the report relays. The commonwealth defaulted on bond payments in August and is in restructuring talks with creditors, the report says. It has also has turned to the U.S. Congress for access to bankruptcy protections, the report adds. The report discloses that investors in Cofina range from mutual funds to hedge funds to individual retirees, an array of interests that characterizes Puerto Rico bondholders. About 130 municipal- bond mutual funds had Cofina holdings at the end of September, according to data from investment researcher Morningstar Inc. Many creditors own general-obligation debt, too, the report notes. Bond insurers also back billions of dollars of Cofina debt, along with other Puerto Rico bonds, the report relays. About $4 billion of the Cofina debt was sold as zero-coupon bonds, which function like savings bonds, the report says. Investors buy the debt for less than face value and receive no interest payments-instead collecting a larger amount when the bonds mature, often decades in the future. The setup allows the issuer to avoid interest payments until the debt matures much later, the report discloses. Some analysts say that structure enabled the island to dodge hard choices, piling a long-term financial problem atop Puerto Rico's immediate crisis, says the report. "This is a classic example of how Puerto Rico got into this mess," said Sergio Marxuach, public-policy director at the Center for a New Economy, a think tank in San Juan, the report notes. Those zero-coupon bonds make it hard to say exactly how much Puerto Rico owes Cofina investors, which the island says in different disclosures is either $15.2 billion or $16.6 billion, the report relays. Municipal Market Analytics puts the figure closer to $17.5 billion, saying the bonds increase in value as time goes by, the report notes. In 40 years, when the last zero-coupon bonds mature, the full payment to bondholders is scheduled to be about $25 billion-about one-quarter of the money borrowed through Cofina and two-thirds of the amount owed, that research firm found, the report discloses. Some say negotiations ultimately will, and should, ensue over the Cofina bonds, as untangling legal claims between general obligation and Cofina debt is likely to result in delay and uncertainty, the report notes. Puerto Rico's power authority reached a consensus restructuring deal with creditors after more than a year of talks, the report relays. "Gridlock will be complicated, time consuming, expensive, uncertain and result in less for investors rather than more," said James Spiotto, managing director at the municipal-bond consulting firm Chapman Strategic Advisors, which consults on financial restructuring, the report adds. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on Dec. 28, 2015, Moody's Investors Service has downgraded $1.09 billion of Puerto Rico appropriation bonds issued by the Public Finance Corporation (PFC) to C from Ca, while maintaining other ratings assigned to the US territory's debt. PUERTO RICO: Top Senate Republican Pushes Short-Term Aid -------------------------------------------------------- Kathleen Miller and Jim Rowley at Bloomberg News report that a top U.S. Senate Republican said he will push for including aid to Puerto Rico in the $1.1 trillion spending bill that lawmakers are racing to approve, which would mark the first step by Congress to help the Caribbean island deal with an escalating debt crisis. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, who chairs the finance committee, told reporters in the Capitol that he plans to get a measure in the legislation that would help Puerto Rico meet its financial obligations until February at least, according to Bloomberg News. That would give Congress time to reach agreement on a broader response to the territory's fiscal strains, the report notes. "Because I can't bring both sides together, it will probably be a stop-gap to get them through to hopefully the end of February," Bloomberg News quoted Mr. Hatch as saying. "If we can do that, it gets us some time to resolve it," Mr. Hatch added. Bloomberg News notes that Puerto Rico has been pleading with lawmakers in Washington for assistance as it runs out of cash and struggles to pay its $70 billion of debt. The commonwealth in December narrowly averted a default on government-guaranteed debt for the first time and may be unable to cover $957 million due to investors on Jan. 1, Bloomberg News says. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on Dec. 28, 2015, Moody's Investors Service has downgraded $1.09 billion of Puerto Rico appropriation bonds issued by the Public Finance Corporation (PFC) to C from Ca, while maintaining other ratings assigned to the US territory's debt. ================================ T R I N I D A D & T O B A G O ================================ * TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Gas Exports to Spain Down 42.4% ---------------------------------------------------- Trinidad Express reports that Trinidad and Tobago gas exports to Spain, one of the country's major markets in Europe, declined 42.4 per cent for the year as at October 2015. This is revealed by Spain's Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism agency, Cores, in its December 27 release of Hydrocarbon Bulletin No. 215, according to Trinidad Express. ============= U R U G U A Y ============= * URUGUAY: Exports Fall 11.6% in 2015 ------------------------------------- EFE News reports that Uruguay's exports of goods totaled $U8.96 billion in 2015, an 11.6 percent decrease from the previous year, Uruguay XXI, the South American country's investment and trade promotion agency, said. Beef and cellulose surpassed soybeans as the main products exported by Uruguay in 2015, while China and Brazil remained the top buyers of goods, according to EFE News. The Annual Foreign Trade Report said Uruguay, whose exports had not fallen since 2009 amid the global financial crisis, is the South American country that posted the smallest drop in exports, the report notes. The report attributed the "expected results" to the fall in international commodity prices, the economic slowdown in China, stagnation in Argentina and the recession in Brazil, all of which contributed to adverse external and regional environments, EFE discloses. The decrease in the value of exports reflects, mostly, the lower prices for the products the country sells overseas since, in general terms, volumes increased, Uruguay XXI said, the report relays. The volume of beef exports, which top the list of Uruguayan foreign sales, increased 5.2 percent in 2015 over 2014 to a record 223,000 tons of frozen meat and 39,000 tons of refrigerated meat, but the value decreased 2.3 percent, the report notes. Exports of cellulose were valued at almost $1.27 billion, making it the product with the biggest positive contribution, the report says. The government agency estimated that in 2016 the drop in value of Uruguayan exports will be "significantly less" than the 1.6 percent decrease registered in 2015, and it expects the numbers will turn positive in 2017, when the value of exports could increase 3.1 percent, the report adds. *********** Monday's edition of the TCR-LA delivers a list of indicative prices for bond issues that reportedly trade well below par. Prices are obtained by TCR-LA editors from a variety of outside sources during the prior week we think are reliable. Those sources may not, however, be complete or accurate. The Monday Bond Pricing table is compiled on the Friday prior to publication. Prices reported are not intended to reflect actual trades. Prices for actual trades are probably different. Our objective is to share information, not make markets in publicly traded securities. Nothing in the TCR-LA constitutes an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security of any kind. It is likely that some entity affiliated with a TCR-LA editor holds some position in the issuers' public debt and equity securities about which we report. Tuesday's edition of the TCR-LA features a list of companies with insolvent balance sheets obtained by our editors based on the latest balance sheets publicly available a day prior to publication. At first glance, this list may look like the definitive compilation of stocks that are ideal to sell short. Don't be fooled. Assets, for example, reported at historical cost net of depreciation may understate the true value of a firm's assets. A company may establish reserves on its balance sheet for liabilities that may never materialize. The prices at which equity securities trade in public market are determined by more than a balance sheet solvency test. Submissions about insolvency-related conferences are encouraged. Send announcements to conferences@bankrupt.com *********** 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, Valerie U. Pascual, Julie Anne L. Toledo, and Peter A. Chapman, Editors. Copyright 2016. 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 or Nina Novak at 202-362-8552. * * * End of Transmission * * *