/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRLA_Public/180202.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

               Friday, February 2, 2018, Vol. 19, No. 24


                            Headlines



A R G E N T I N A

NAUTILUS INKIA: S&P Assigns BB Corp. Credit Rating, Outlook Stable


B R A Z I L

ACHE LABORATORIOS: S&P Affirms 'BB+' GS Corp. Credit Rating
BANCO DAYCOVAL: S&P Affirms 'BB-/B' ICRs, Outlook Still Negative
BRAZIL: Unemployment Dips Slightly to 11.8%
ENFRAGEN SPAIN: S&P Gives Prelim. 'BB' Rating on Notes Due 2025
NEXA RESOURCES: S&P Affirms 'BB+/B' Corp. Credit Ratings


C H I L E

CG BANKING: S&P Lowers ICR to 'CCC+' on Tighter Finances


D O M I N I C A N   R E P U B L I C

CDEEE: Up to US Courts to Resolve Punta Catalina Cost Overrun Row
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: No Mines if San Juan Doesn't Want Them


M E X I C O

CORPORACION ELECTRICA: S&P Raises CCR to 'CC', On Watch Negative
INRETAIL CONSUMER: S&P Puts BB+ CCR on Watch Neg. on Quicorp Deal


P A R A G U A Y

PARAGUAY: Truck Drivers Still on Strike


V E N E Z U E L A

VENEZUELA: Claims Accord Reached, Opposition Denies It


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A R G E N T I N A
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NAUTILUS INKIA: S&P Assigns BB Corp. Credit Rating, Outlook Stable
------------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'BB' corporate credit rating on
Nautilus Inkia Holdings LLC (Nautilus). At the same time, S&P
withdrew its 'BB' corporate credit rating on Inkia Energy Limited
(Inkia). The outlook on Nautilus is stable.

The infrastructure private equity firm I Squared Capital (ISQ; not
rated) incorporated a new company, Nautilus. On Dec. 31, 2017,
Nautilus acquired shares in Inkia, the underlying company and
assumed its $600 million outstanding bond due in 2027. From an
analytical perspective, S&P concluded that there were no changes
in Nautilus' repayment capacity because its underlying assets,
outstanding liabilities, and repayment capacity remained
unchanged.

From a financial perspective, S&P expects Nautilus's EBITDA to
reach $500 million in 2018, and almost $550 million in 2019. The
improvement mainly comes from the 555-megawatt (MW) hydroelectric
power plant Cerro del Aguila (CdA) that started operations in
August 2016 and that was in its ramp-up phase in 2017. Nautilus
will use its operating cash flows mainly to fund capital
expenditures (capex) and to distribute dividends according to a
payout ratio of 50% of net income, accumulating a relatively high
amount of cash.

The stable outlook incorporates S&P's expectation that Nautilus
will generate EBITDA in a range of $450-$500 million in the next
18 months in the same business of the former company, Inkia; its
volatility should be low due to its contractual base. Around 85%
of its generation is contracted under long-term PPAs, and the
distribution business benefits from highly predictable payments.
S&P's base case scenario considers that Nautilus's leverage will
converge to a debt to EBITDA ratio of around 4x in the next 18
months.



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B R A Z I L
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ACHE LABORATORIOS: S&P Affirms 'BB+' GS Corp. Credit Rating
-----------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'BB+' global scale and 'brAAA'
Brazilian national scale corporate credit ratings on Ache
Laboratorios Farmaceuticos S.A. The outlook remains stable.

S&P said, "The ratings affirmation reflects our view that Ache
will continue delivering strong cash flow generation as result of
its strong pipeline of new drug launches and satisfactory
regulatory approval rates (close to 100%), coupled with consistent
portfolio maturation. At the same time, we expect the company to
maintain its solid market position in the Brazilian pharmaceutical
market along with very low leverage despite a debt increase to
finance the construction of a new industrial plant. On the other
hand, Ache has a much smaller scale and less geographic and
manufacturing facility diversification compared to its global
peers.

"The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Ache will
continue to show solid revenue growth due to new drug launches.
Hence we believe that the company will continue to generate
increasing cash flow, allowing it to maintain its conservative
leverage levels of debt to EBITDA consistently below 0.5x, even
with the construction of the new plant that will be financed with
debt."


BANCO DAYCOVAL: S&P Affirms 'BB-/B' ICRs, Outlook Still Negative
----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'BB-/B' global scale and
'brA+/brA-1' Brazilian national scale issuer credit ratings on
Banco Daycoval S.A. The outlook remains negative. The bank's
stand-alone credit profile (SACP) remains 'bb-'.

The ratings on Daycoval reflect its somewhat concentrated business
profile, given its focus on middle-market and payroll lending. S&P
said, "We also base our analysis of Daycoval on our expectation
that it will maintain its strong internal capital generation,
leading to a forecasted risk-adjusted capital (RAC) ratio of about
8.0% for the next two years. Moreover, the bank has maintained a
diversified client base and stable asset quality metrics, without
reverting to restructuring loans to avoid losses like other
midsize Brazilian banks. The ratings also reflect our view that
the bank's funding structure still lacks broader depositor and
funding source diversification relative to the industry average
and that its liquidity position will provide adequate cushion to
cope with cash outflows over the next 12 months.

"The negative outlook on Daycoval for the next 12 months reflects
our view of a continued negative trend in Brazil's BICRA economic
and industry risk. We believe there is still a significant risk
that a portion of the high number of renegotiated loans in the
industry will add pressure to already very high credit losses, and
we hold that there is a persistent risk that corruption
investigations could weaken the credit quality of a number of
banks."


BRAZIL: Unemployment Dips Slightly to 11.8%
-------------------------------------------
The unemployment rate in Brazil during the last quarter of 2017
was 11.8 percent, equating to 12.3 million people out of work, the
official Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE)
said.

The fourth-quarter rate was down 0.6 percent from 12.4 percent in
the July-September period.

As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on
Jan. 15, 2018, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term foreign
and local currency sovereign credit ratings on the Federative
Republic of Brazil to 'BB-' from 'BB'. The outlook on the ratings
is stable. At the same time, S&P affirmed its 'B' short-term
foreign and local currency ratings on Brazil. S&P also lowered the
transfer and convertibility assessment to 'BB+' from 'BBB-'. In
addition, S&P affirmed the 'brAA-' national scale rating and
revised the outlook to stable.


ENFRAGEN SPAIN: S&P Gives Prelim. 'BB' Rating on Notes Due 2025
---------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its preliminary 'BB' issue-level
rating to EnfraGen Spain S.A.'s and Prime Energia SpA's (jointly,
the project) dollar-denominated senior secured notes due 2025. The
outlook is stable.

S&P said, "The final debt rating will depend on our receipt and
satisfactory review of all final transaction documentation; the
issue margin on the new notes would need to be in line with our
expectations. Accordingly, the preliminary rating shouldn't be
construed as evidence of final rating. If we don't receive the
final documentation within a reasonable timeframe, or if the final
transaction departs from our assumptions, we reserve the right to
withdraw or change the rating."

The project will consist of a portfolio of 12 power assets
totaling 728 megawatt (MW) of installed capacity. It will use four
different types of technologies including:

-- A large fleet of proven reciprocating engines located in the
    Central Interconnected System (the Spanish acronym of SIC) in
    Chile; One small solar photovoltaic park in the northern part
    of the SIC;

-- Two open cycle diesel-fueled combustion turbines in the SIC;
    and

-- Three 10 MW run-of-the-river hydropower plants in Panama.

Seven of the 12 assets are currently operating. The remaining five
(all located in Chile and consisting of diesel-fueled power
plants) will be built in 2018 and 2019. The project has already
signed a fixed-price, date-certain engineering, procurement, and
construction (EPC) contract with TSK Electronica y Electricidad
S.A. and with Rolls Royce Power System AG, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Rolls Royce PLC. Rolls Royce Power System has
jointly and severally committed to delivering the facilities
between June and December 2019, detaining all obligations under
the contractual terms. The project will also have to construct
short transmission lines to connect the new assets to the Chilean
power grid. Additional EPC contracts are likely to offered for
bidding in the first two weeks of February. Overall, the project
expects to offer the same terms and conditions of the already
signed EPC, and the amount is marginal compared to aggregate
construction costs (estimated at around $10 million). S&P included
in its construction risk assessment all works related to the
interconnection, as well as the costs associated to it, and will
only undertake the Counterparty Dependency Assessment (CDA) on
this new contractor once the contract is awarded.


NEXA RESOURCES: S&P Affirms 'BB+/B' Corp. Credit Ratings
--------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'BB+' long-term and 'B' short-term
corporate credit ratings on Nexa Resources S.A. (Nexa). At the
same time, S&P maintained the company's SACP at 'bb+'. The outlook
remains stable.

S&P said, "We also affirmed the 'BB+' issue-level rating on Nexa's
2027 notes. The company's capital structure consists mainly of
around $1 billion in senior unsecured notes -- issued by Milpo
($300 million) and Nexa ($700 million) -- $310 million of bank
loans, and $75 million in credit lines from the Brazilian
Development Bank (BNDES). Real assets secure only a small part of
the debt. We rate Nexa's senior unsecured notes at the same level
as the corporate credit rating. Nexa's priority debt ratio is
lower than 50%, and we believe the risk of subordination on the
company's notes is mitigated by the presence of upstream
guarantees from the following subsidiaries: Votorantim Metais
Zinco S.A. (VMZ), Compania Minera Milpo S.A.A. (Milpo;
BB+/Stable/--), and Votorantim Metais - Cajamarquilla S.A. (CJM)."

The affirmation reflects Nexa's sound operating performance and
the maintenance of low leverage metrics, mainly following the
successful placement of its IPO through which it raised about $310
million in net proceeds from the primary offering. Nexa was also
able to further improve its liquidity position and capital
structure by extending debt maturity profile, allowing the company
to pursue its growth cycle without meaningfully harming its
leverage metrics, which S&P expects to be below 2.0x in the next
several years.

The resources from the IPO will help Nexa to fund its long-term
strategy to focus on zinc and copper production. Between 2018 and
2020, company will devote $350 million to Aripuana, a polymetallic
mine in Brazil that could produce about 50,000 tons of zinc in
concentrate and 4,000 tons of copper in concentrate by 2021. The
company's second-largest project is Magistral, which will receive
a total of around $550 million in capital expenditures (capex)
during 2019-2021. Magistral is a copper mine located in Peru that
could produce 40,000 tons of copper annually. Other greenfield
zinc projects include Shalipayco and Florida Canyon. The
successful ramp-up of those projects could contribute to Nexa's
higher scale and a broader diversification by commodities and
mines, which along with the maintenance of low debt, could enhance
the company's ability to soften commodities prices fluctuations on
its balance sheet.



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C H I L E
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CG BANKING: S&P Lowers ICR to 'CCC+' on Tighter Finances
--------------------------------------------------------
Chile-based bank Itau CorpBanca, the main asset of CG Banking, has
delayed consolidating its results due to adjustments stemming from
its merger with Banco Itau Chile and from higher provisions
related to a weakening in credit quality of some of its loans in
Chile and Colombia.

S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit and issue-level
ratings on Corp Group Banking S.A. (CG Banking) to 'CCC+' from
'B-'. The outlook on the issuer credit rating remains negative.

The rating action reflects the weakening in CG Banking's financial
profile and liquidity position as a result of persistently low
dividend flows from its main asset, Itau CorpBanca
(BBB+/Negative/A-2). This is due to delays in the bank's
consolidation of its results after its merger with Banco Itau
Chile and due to the impact of higher provisions on punctual
credit cases. Also, S&P's incorporating adjustments in Itau
CorpBanca's payout ratios to levels more closer to the minimum
requirement in Chile, given that the implementation of a new
banking law in the country is more imminent and in light of the
bank's lesser capacity to increase capital. These factors are
increasing CG Banking's dependence on funds from its ultimate
owner (Saieh family) to cover debt service payments at least for
the next two years.

The ratings on CG Banking reflect its heavy reliance on dividends
from Itau CorpBanca, which is a regulated entity and the company's
largest asset (with a 26.6% stake); the deep subordination to the
bank's creditors; and tight liquidity. S&P said, "Our analysis of
CG Banking takes a consolidated approach, given that dividends it
receives from Itau CorpBanca are the main recurrent source of
payment of the holding company's and Interhold's (CG Banking's
parent) debt. Due to CG Banking and Interhold's high debt burden,
the former's liquidity and financial metrics are very tight, given
the commitment to upstream cash to cover the parent's debt
service. CG Banking's debt consists of $500 million notes due
2023. Under these notes' terms and conditions, the company can't
incur additional debt and is subject to restricted payments.
Interhold's debt mostly consists of credit lines for up to $1.1
billion from Itau Unibanco S.A., which the former obtained as part
of Itau CorpBanca's merger with Banco Itau Chile. We consider that
most of Interhold's debt with Itau Unibanco as a mitigating
factor."



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D O M I N I C A N   R E P U B L I C
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CDEEE: Up to US Courts to Resolve Punta Catalina Cost Overrun Row
-----------------------------------------------------------------
eDominican Today reports that the CEO of state-owned Electric
Utility Corporacion Dominicana de Empresas Electricas Estatales
(CDEEE) affirmed said the dispute between the utility and the
construction company Odebrecht over a US$708.0 million cost
overrun in the Punta Catalina coal-fired power plant is only up to
US courts to resolve.

Ruben Jimenez Bichara also said the first of the plant's two
units, which will supply 752 Mw, will start operations in the last
quarter this year, according to Dominican Today.

"The position has been clear and the result of the fact that there
hasn't been a negotiation, is that only the courts of the United
States remain as an arena," the official said, the report notes.

The official spoke after laying a wreath at Altar de la Patria to
pay tribute to founding fathers Juan Pablo Duarte, Ramon Matias
Mella and Francisco del Rosario Sanchez, the report adds.

As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on
Nov. 20, 2017, Fitch Ratings has affirmed Dominican Republic's
Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB-'
with a Stable Outlook.


DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: No Mines if San Juan Doesn't Want Them
----------------------------------------------------------
Dominican Today reports that Dominican Republic Energy and Mines
Minister Antonio Isa Conde said it's government policy that any
mining project must count on social acceptance to materialize, so
"if the community of San Juan does not want mines, then there
should be no mine."

He said the proposal submitted to the Executive on the project at
Romero (west) is based on technical, legal and financial studies,
which are part of his area of oversight, according to Dominican
Today.

The report notes that Mr. Isa has reiterated that his
recommendation for the Executive's eventual approval doesn't imply
that the miner GoldQuest has exploitation rights.  "It's up to the
Environment Ministry to define if the project is environmentally
viable," the report quoted Mr. Isa as saying.

"We are sure that, if the environmental studies conclude that the
mining project may affect the aquifers of the area, the
Environment Ministry would not grant the environmental license to
start exploitation," the official said, the report adds.

As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on
Nov. 20, 2017, Fitch Ratings has affirmed Dominican Republic's
Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB-'
with a Stable Outlook.



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M E X I C O
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CORPORACION ELECTRICA: S&P Raises CCR to 'CC', On Watch Negative
----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings raised our long-term corporate credit rating on
Corporacion Electrica Nacional S.A. (Corpoelec) to 'CC' from 'SD'
and its senior unsecured debt rating to 'CC' from 'D'. S&P also
placed the ratings on CreditWatch with negative implications.
Additionally, S&P is assigning Corpoelec's stand-alone credit
profile (SACP) at 'cc'.

The 'CC' credit rating reflects that Corpoelec resumed interest
payment on its $650 million 8.5% notes due April 10, 2018. The
payment was effective after the grace period expired and was
originally due on Oct. 10, 2017.


INRETAIL CONSUMER: S&P Puts BB+ CCR on Watch Neg. on Quicorp Deal
-----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings placed its 'BB+' long-term corporate credit and
issue-level ratings on InRetail Consumer (IC) on CreditWatch
negative.

The CreditWatch listing follows IC's announcement that it acquired
Quicorp S.A. for a total amount of $583 million.

The acquisition was funded through a mix of a bridge loan for $1.0
billion, and an equity contribution of $150 million by a group of
private investors. The remaining $567 million will be used for
liability management at the IC and Quicorp levels--$460 million--
and $107 million will be dedicated to general corporate purposes.
Quicorp's acquisition includes its Ecuador business unit, which
represents about 20% of its revenues, and is still-pending
Ecuadorian regulatory approval.



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P A R A G U A Y
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PARAGUAY: Truck Drivers Still on Strike
---------------------------------------
EFE News reports that Paraguayan truck drivers remain on strike in
response to the government's decision to allow Brazilian double-
trailer trucks to ply the country's highways.

The president of the Paraguayan Truck Drivers' Associacion, Angel
Zaracho, told EFE that 90 percent of the union's members had
agreed to participate in the strike, which is starting to affect
the supply of goods shipped to Paraguay's main cities.

As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on Dec.
19, 2017, Fitch Ratings has affirmed Paraguay's Long-Term Foreign
and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'BB'. The
Rating Outlooks have been revised to Positive from Stable.



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V E N E Z U E L A
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VENEZUELA: Claims Accord Reached, Opposition Denies It
------------------------------------------------------
EFE News reports that Venezuelan government representatives said
that they reached a preliminary agreement with the opposition
during their talks in Santo Domingo, a statement that was denied
by the latter, who said that several issues remain to be resolved.

"No preliminary agreement has been signed here.  The only thing
there is in black and white are those issues on which progress has
been made," said opposition lawmaker and spokesman Julio Borges
shortly after Venezuelan Communications Minister and chief
negotiator Jorge Rodriguez announced the pre-agreement, according
to EFE News.

Dominican President Danilo Medina, who is hosting the dialogue,
said that the two parties signed "a document with the advances in
the dialogue agenda" but that several issues remained pending that
must still be discussed in Caracas, and so a period of several
days must elapse before the parties return to the dialogue table,
which "tentatively" will occur, the report notes.

At a press conference after the latest day of talks at the
Dominican Foreign Ministry, Rodriguez said that the parties had
been able to reach "a preliminary agreement that allowed the
signing of a document containing the elements of understanding
between the Venezuelan right and the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela," the report relays.

He added that "only details remain, minor elements" to be
negotiated before a definitive agreement is concluded, adding that
this will occur next in Santo Domingo, and thus a "defeat" had
been dealt to the sectors opposing the Nicolas Maduro government,
among which he cited the United States, the report notes.

He also said that the minor details will be cleared up in Caracas
with the opposition, who -- in contrast -- said that progress had
been made on some points but not on others, the report says.

The report discloses that Mr. Borges said that there are only two
options: "Either a comprehensive agreement is reached where we can
all be satisfied or regrettably an agreement will not be reached
and we would have to close this phase" of the discussions.

Venezuelan government and opposition representatives had arrived
Wednesday at the Dominican Foreign Ministry for their third
consecutive day of talks seeking an agreement that would end their
country's political and economic crisis, the report relays.

The government and the divided opposition resumed their dialogue
after the controversial moving up of the presidential elections in
which Maduro hopes to win re-election, the report adds.

As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on
Jan. 12, 2018, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issue rating on the
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela's global bond due 2020 to 'D'
from 'CC'. At the same time, S&P affirmed its long- and short-term
foreign currency sovereign issuer credit ratings at 'SD/D'. The
long- and short-term local currency sovereign credit ratings
remain at 'CCC-/C' and are still on CreditWatch with negative
implications, where S&P placed them on Nov. 3, 2017. Other foreign
currency senior unsecured debt issues not currently rated 'D' are
rated 'CC'.


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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, Julie Anne L. Toledo, Ivy B. Magdadaro, and Peter A.
Chapman, Editors.

Copyright 2018.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2746.

This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or
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Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to
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of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription or
balance thereof are US$25 each.  For subscription information,
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.


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