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       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

          Monday, May 29, 2023, Vol. 24, No. 107

                           Headlines



A R G E N T I N A

PROVINCE OF MENDOZA: S&P Affirms 'CCC-' ICR, Outlook Negative


B R A Z I L

BRAZIL: April Account Records Show 1st External Deficit Since 2019
OI SA: Fitch Lowers LongTerm Issuer Default Ratings to 'D'


C A Y M A N   I S L A N D S

GRIFFIN GLOBAL: Fitch Assigns 'BB(EXP)' IDR, Outlook Stable
SEAGATE HDD: Fitch Gives 'BB+' Rating on Senior Unsecured Notes
SEAGATE HDD: S&P Assigns 'BB' Rating on New Unsecured Notes


C O L O M B I A

BANCO GNB: Fitch Affirms LongTerm IDRs at 'BB', Outlook Stable
ITAU COLOMBIA: Fitch Affirms LongTerm IDRs at 'BB', Outlook Stable


D O M I N I C A N   R E P U B L I C

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Abinader Provided Construction Facilities
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Unions Propose to Cut Working Day to 40 Hours


E C U A D O R

ECUADOR: Fitch Alters Outlook on 'B-' Foreign Curr. IDR to Negative


S U R I N A M E

SURINAME: IMF Reached Deal on 2nd Review of Economic Reform


U R U G U A Y

HDI SEGUROS: Moody's Affirms Ba2 Insurance Fin. Strength Rating


X X X X X X X X

[*] BOND PRICING COLUMN: For the Week May 22 to May 26, 2023

                           - - - - -


=================
A R G E N T I N A
=================

PROVINCE OF MENDOZA: S&P Affirms 'CCC-' ICR, Outlook Negative
-------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings, on May 23, 2023, affirmed its 'CCC-' global
scale issuer credit and issue-level ratings on the province of
Mendoza.  The outlook remains negative.

Outlook

Similar to other local governments in Argentina, the negative
outlook on S&P's rating on Mendoza reflects potential further
deterioration of overall credit conditions, given Argentina's
challenging economic dynamics including its worsened external
liquidity, which has raised pressure on the FX market.
Nevertheless, Argentine provinces in general have been improving
their finances in recent months. However, they depend on the
availability of foreign currency to service their debt. The central
bank's international reserves have fallen in the first quarter of
2023, and S&P expects them to come under greater pressure as the
ongoing severe drought hits agricultural exports, weakening
foreign-currency inflows and further limiting the ability of
non-sovereign entities to convert or transfer money for timely debt
service.

Downside scenario

S&P said, "We could lower the long-term ratings on Mendoza if the
central government further tightens access to FX, which could
impair the province's ability to service foreign-currency debt in
the next six to 12 months. In addition, we would likely consider a
debt exchange or restructuring as distressed and tantamount to
default at such a low rating level."

Upside scenario

S&P said, "We could raise the ratings in the next 12 months if we
see improvement in conditions for LRGs' access to foreign currency
to service debt. A track record of the sovereign's successful
execution under the IMF's Extended Fund Facility, coupled with
clarity on how policy will ease financing challenges and provide a
road map to address Argentina's major structural macroeconomic
imbalances, would be positive for Mendoza and Argentine LRGs in
general."

Rationale

S&P said, "Our stand-alone credit profile (SACP) on Mendoza of 'b-'
reflects our view that cash accumulated during 2021 and 2022, along
with commitment to fiscal-containment measures, should allow the
province to cover its debt service payments in 2023-2025. Mendoza's
international bond started amortizing this year and total debt
service (including principal and interest) in U.S. dollars will
total $130 million annually in 2023-2025, which includes about $25
million from multilateral lending institutions. We believe that
overall debt service, which also includes loans from Banco Nacion
and the national government, and local bonds for minor amounts,
should be manageable for the province."

However, risks will stem from uncertainty in the province's
capacity to access sufficient foreign currency to bulk up needed
sums to service debt in U.S. dollars, as well as potential
macroeconomic instability that could strain Mendoza's fiscal flows
and cash position. This is reflected in our T&C assessment and the
sovereign rating cap on the ratings on Mendoza.

Fiscal performance boosted cash levels recently, but pressures are
likely to emerge

S&P said, "We expect Mendoza to post operating surpluses averaging
11.8% of operating revenue during 2023-2025, along with balanced
results after capex, as the province mostly relies on its own
financial resources to fund infrastructure spending. Fiscal results
improved substantially in 2021 and 2022 mostly thanks to high
inflation that pushed up revenues rapidly, while spending remained
under control. Therefore, despite the recovery in capex and a
policy to lower tax rates, Mendoza accumulated cash in the past two
years.

"Our forecast assumes increases in Mendoza's own-source revenue and
transfers from the national government (accounting for 57% of the
province's total revenue) to be broadly in line with nominal GDP
growth. We incorporate potential pressures on operating spending,
particularly payroll (50% of the government's outlays) amid high
inflation and given that public-sector employee salaries haven't
recovered in real terms since the wage freeze in 2020. We believe
that high inflation can lead to volatility in fiscal performance,
especially if salary negotiations become more frequent. We also
believe that Mendoza's budgetary flexibility is limited due to a
relatively rigid operating spending structure, while increases in
taxes are unlikely.

The province has been receiving capital transfers from the national
government since October 2019 for a large hydroelectric dam
project, Portezuelo del Viento, which currently total about $650
million (from a total $1 billion in committed transfers). There's
uncertainty over whether the project will move forward--in which
case Mendoza would solicit using funds for other hydro or energy
projects. Given that the project's construction is financed through
an account separate from the provincial budget, S&P excludes these
transfers from its fiscal estimates and only consider any spending
for the project that's additional to these transfers.

S&P assumes international debt markets will remain closed to
Argentine LRGs, and Mendoza will cover funding needs with
pre-approved loans from multilateral lending agencies, as well as
with loans from the national government. The province generally can
issue short-term notes (Letras) for a total of 2.5% of budgeted
revenue, although it doesn't plan to do so because it doesn't
currently have short-term liquidity needs. Any Letras that Mendoza
issues must mature before the election in September 2023.

Given limited access to credit markets, building cash buffers and
maintaining their value in real terms is a key challenge for
Argentine provinces. Improved fiscal performance allowed Mendoza to
accumulate cash. Based on our estimates, Mendoza's free and
available cash should cover debt repayment for the next 12 months.
Nevertheless, this could change, especially if volatility in the
exchange rate is higher than we expect. At the same time, Mendoza
generally has high debt owed to suppliers at the end of the year
that can pressure its cash position, although these obligations are
generally lowered and compensated by the first-quarter revenue
collection.

The province's debt stock dropped to 36% of operating revenue in
2022 from 60% in 2020. About 75% of debt is denominated in U.S.
dollars, which underscores the potential currency risk. S&P expects
debt burden to diminish in coming years and interest payments to
below 5% of operating revenue, largely because financing conditions
remain tight. The province's debt service has increased in 2023 as
the 2029 international bond began to amortize.

Low institutional predictability and subdued economic growth limit
Mendoza's financial planning

S&P said, "Our economic outlook for Mendoza is bleak, in line with
that for the sovereign. The Argentine economy will likely contract
in 2023 given significant imbalances in the run up to the election
and the severe drought, and we expect growth will be below the
average of peers of similar levels of development, with a trend of
2% in 2024-2025. Meanwhile, inflation is still likely to stay close
to 100% year-over-year in 2023, and will continue to pressure the
country's already weak socioeconomic indicators. Sluggish economic
growth and exchange-rate depreciation resulted in Mendoza's GDP per
capita at $8,700 in 2023, below the estimated national GDP per
capita of $14,125."

The provincial administration has a track record of curbing
spending and reducing the fiscal gap, while it has maintained
commitment to lower the tax burden. More recently, the province has
been discussing changes in the local Fiscal Responsibility Law,
which include improvements in an anticyclical fund, currently not
in use, but if approved it would hold at least one month's worth of
payroll and to be used during periods of lower operating revenue.
S&P's base-case scenario assumes the continuity in policies
following the gubernatorial and legislative elections in the
province in September 2023.

Amid the increasingly strained financial conditions, including a
very limited access to external funding, the administration decided
to prioritize operating and capital spending over timely payment of
its international bond in 2020, which was restructured.

Finally, S&P assesses the institutional framework for Argentina's
LRGs as very volatile and underfunded, reflecting its perception of
the sovereign's very weak institutional predictability and volatile
intergovernmental system that has been subject to various
modifications to fiscal regulations and lack of consistency over
the years. This jeopardizes the LRGs' financial planning and
consequently their credit quality.

In accordance with S&P's relevant policies and procedures, the
Rating Committee was composed of analysts that are qualified to
vote in the committee, with sufficient experience to convey the
appropriate level of knowledge and understanding of the methodology
applicable. At the onset of the committee, the chair confirmed that
the information provided to the Rating Committee by the primary
analyst had been distributed in a timely manner and was sufficient
for Committee members to make an informed decision.

After the primary analyst gave opening remarks and explained the
recommendation, the Committee discussed key rating factors and
critical issues in accordance with the relevant criteria.
Qualitative and quantitative risk factors were considered and
discussed, looking at track-record and forecasts.

The committee's assessment of the key rating factors is reflected
in the Ratings Score Snapshot above.

The chair ensured every voting member was given the opportunity to
articulate his/her opinion. The chair or designee reviewed the
draft report to ensure consistency with the Committee decision. The
views and the decision of the rating committee are summarized in
the above rationale and outlook. The weighting of all rating
factors is described in the methodology used in this rating
action.

  Ratings List

  RATINGS AFFIRMED

  MENDOZA (PROVINCE OF)

   Issuer Credit Rating     CCC-/Negative/--

  MENDOZA (PROVINCE OF)

   Senior Unsecured         CCC-




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B R A Z I L
===========

BRAZIL: April Account Records Show 1st External Deficit Since 2019
------------------------------------------------------------------
Richard Mann at Rio Times Online reports that Brazil's external
accounts recorded a deficit of US$1.68 billion last April, the
first negative result for the month since 2019, Brazil's Central
Bank announced.

In April 2022, Brazil's current account had a surplus of US$100
million, according to Rio Times Online.

The current account comprises the trade balance, the services and
income account, and unilateral transfers, that is, resources sent
by Brazilians living outside the country, the report notes.

According to the Central Bank, the external accounts registered a
deficit of US$13.678 billion from January to April, compared to a
negative result of US$ 16.468 billion, the report adds.

                        About Brazil

Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world and third largest
in the Americas. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won the 2022
Brazilian general election. He was sworn in on January 1, 2023, as
the 39th president of Brazil, succeeding Jair Bolsonaro.

As recently reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin
America, Fitch Ratings, in December 2022, affirmed Brazil's
Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB-'
with a Stable Outlook. The ratings are constrained by high
government indebtedness, a rigid fiscal structure, weak economic
growth potential, and a record of governability challenges that
have hampered efforts to address these fiscal and economic issues
and clouded policy predictability. The Stable Outlook reflects
Fitch's expectation that growth will slow in the coming year and
that recent fiscal improvement will erode under a new government,
but within a margin consistent with the current rating, and from a
better starting point than previously expected. Uncertainty is
elevated regarding the plans of the incoming government and the
extent to which these could ease or aggravate fiscal and economic
challenges. However, Fitch does not expect policies that
jeopardize broad economic stability.

Standard & Poor's affirmed its 'BB-/B' long- and short-term
foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Brazil, and
the outlook remains stable (June 2022).  The stable outlook
reflects S&P's base-case assumption that Brazil will maintain its
fiscal anchors over the next two years despite an increasing
interest burden, preventing significant fiscal slippage and
limiting the rise in its already high debt burden.

Moody's credit rating for Brazil was last set at Ba2 in 2018 with
stable outlook.  Moody's affirmed the Ba2 issuer ratings and
senior unsecured bond ratings in April 2022.

DBRS's credit rating for Brazil is BB (low) with stable outlook
(March 2018).


OI SA: Fitch Lowers LongTerm Issuer Default Ratings to 'D'
----------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Oi S.A.'s Long-Term Foreign Currency
(FC) and Local Currency (LC) Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to 'D'
from 'C' and its Long-Term National Scale Rating to 'D(bra)' from
'C(bra)'. Fitch has also affirmed Oi's senior unsecured notes due
2025 and senior secured 2026 notes at 'C'/'RR4'. The downgrade
reflects the company's ongoing judicial reorganization process.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Bankruptcy Protection: Oi filed a petition for bankruptcy
protection to restructure its liabilities and preserve cash. The
petition was granted by the Rio de Janeiro court and ratified by
the company's board of directors in May 2023. Upon completion of
the restructuring, Fitch will reassess Oi's credit profile and
issue ratings based upon the company's new capital structure.

Recovery Ratings: Fitch estimates a recovery consistent with an
'RR4' Recovery Rating, which is mainly driven by the value of Oi's
34% stake in wholesale fiber-optic network operator, V.tal and to a
lesser extent by the value of Oi's post-restructuring remaining
businesses.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

Fitch's estimate of recovery is based on a going concern EBITDA of
BRL1.2 billion-BRL1.5 billion, which is considered achievable in
the medium term. Fitch uses a multiple of 4x. This is at the low
end of the range of telecom multiples and reflects the heavy
competition in Brazil's fixed broadband market.

Fitch estimates the value of Oi's stake in the V.tal at
approximately BRL8.0 billion. Based on these assumptions, the
forecast recovery rate for Oi is consistent with an 'RR4'.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to positive
rating action/upgrade:

- A ratings upgrade is considered unlikely until a debt
restructuring is completed.

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative
rating action/downgrade:

- Negative rating actions are not possible as the company is the
lowest level of the rating scale.

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Weak liquidity: The company is in judicial restructuring to address
debt obligations of BRL35 billion at face value as of year-end 2022
when the company had cash of BRL3.2 Billion. Oi was granted a
USD275 million debtor-in-possession financing in April 2023 to fund
its business plan through year-end.

ISSUER PROFILE

Oi owns copper telecommunications infrastructure and provides fiber
optic and other digital services for residential and corporate
customers.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Oi S.A. has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Financial
Transparency. Reporting is adequate, but the complexity of the
financial and operational restructuring weighs on the overall
assessment of Transparency. This has a negative impact on the
credit profile, and is relevant to the ratings in conjunction with
other factors.

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of
ESG credit relevance is a score of '3'. This means ESG issues are
credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity,
either due to their nature or the way in which they are being
managed by the entity.

   Entity/Debt               Rating           Recovery   Prior
   -----------               ------           --------   -----
Oi S.A.             LT IDR    D     Downgrade               C

                    LC LT IDR D     Downgrade               C

                    Natl LT   D(bra)Downgrade           C(bra)

   senior
   unsecured        LT        C     Affirmed     RR4        C

   senior secured   LT        C     Affirmed     RR4        C




===========================
C A Y M A N   I S L A N D S
===========================

GRIFFIN GLOBAL: Fitch Assigns 'BB(EXP)' IDR, Outlook Stable
-----------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned an expected Issuer Default Rating (IDR)
of 'BB(EXP)' to Griffin Global Asset Management Holdings, Ltd.
(Griffin) and its rated subsidiary, GGAM Finance Ltd. The Rating
Outlook is Stable. Fitch has also assigned an expected rating of
'BB(EXP)' to GGAM Finance Ltd.'s announced $1 billion senior
unsecured debt issuance. The fixed rate of interest and maturity
date will be determined at the time of issuance.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The expected ratings are supported by Griffin's young fleet, one of
the longest weighted average remaining lease terms amongst peers,
appropriate targeted leverage, the absence of order book purchase
commitments, the lack of near-term debt maturities and solid
expected liquidity metrics. The ratings also consider the senior
management team's depth, experience, and track record in managing
aviation assets and ownership benefits from Bain Capital Credit,
LP, one of the largest alternative investment managers, that
provided the initial capital commitment to Griffin, and brings
aviation investment expertise and banking relationships to support
the Griffin's growth.

The primary rating constraint relates to execution risks associated
with the company's aggressive growth targets and accompanying
financing objectives. Additional rating constraints include a fully
secured funding profile at present, a modest franchise position, a
smaller and significantly concentrated portfolio by customer and
geography, weaker projected profitability metrics over the next two
years and key man risk associated with founder and CEO, Ryan
McKenna. Fitch also notes potential governance and conflict of
interest risks associated with Griffin's externally managed
business model, limited number of independent board members, and
ownership by fixed-life funds.

Rating constraints applicable to the aircraft leasing industry more
broadly include the monoline nature of the business, vulnerability
to exogenous shocks, sensitivity to higher oil prices, inflation
and unemployment, which negatively impact travel demand, potential
exposure to residual value risks, reliance on wholesale funding
sources, and increased competition.

Griffin's initial contracted fleet, as of March 31, 2023, consisted
of 41 aircraft leased to 15 airlines across 11 countries, with a
weighted average age of 1.1 years and a weighted average remaining
lease term of 10.3 years. This represents a young portfolio with
one of the longest remaining lease terms among Fitch rated aircraft
lessors, which could translate to strong asset quality performance
relative to peers over time. The portfolio had net book value of
approximately $2.5 billion as of March 31, 2023.

Fitch anticipates the firm's lack of scale and aggressive growth
strategy amid increased competition will have a negative impact on
near-term profitability. Fitch expects the company's net spread
(lease yields, less funding costs) to be 2.3% and 3.1% in 2023 and
2024, respectively, which is commensurate with Fitch's 'bb'
category earnings and profitability benchmark of 1%-5% for aircraft
lessors with a sector risk operating environment score in the 'bbb'
category.

The company has articulated a leverage target on a gross debt to
tangible equity basis of 2.75x. Proforma for the debt issuance,
Griffin's leverage would have been 1.9x, as of March 31, 2023,
which Fitch believes is appropriate in the context of current
customer concentrations as well as the liquidity of the fleet
profile, as 100% of the portfolio is expected to be tier 1.

Griffin's funding profile is currently 100% secured, which is
viewed to be a rating constraint. Current funding is solely
comprised of a $2.0 billion committed 30-month warehouse facility
provided by a syndicate of 12 banks. The company is seeking to
access the capital markets in the near-term with a proposed senior
unsecured bond issuance, the proceeds of which are expected to be
used to repay outstanding amounts under the warehouse facility.

Assuming a $1 billion issuance size, unsecured debt would increase
to 60.6% of total debt, proforma, as of March 31, 2023. Following
its initial issuance, Fitch expects Griffin will opportunistically
seek to access the secured and unsecured debt capital markets to
fund its operations, targeting greater than 70% unsecured debt over
time. Future unsecured debt issuances would be viewed favorably as
it would increase unencumbered assets and provide enhanced funding
flexibility.

Proforma for the debt issuance, the company is expected to maintain
solid near-term liquidity, including $50 million of unrestricted
cash and $2 billion of availability under the committed warehouse
facility. In addition, Griffin is expected to generate annualized
operating cash flow of $186 million in 2023. Together, this
provides 3.8x liquidity coverage of $604 million of contracted
aircraft purchases. Fitch believes there is minimal refinancing
risk given the lack of debt maturity walls in the next 12 months.

Fitch's sensitivity analysis for Griffin incorporated quantitative
metrics for the company under the agency's base case and stress
case assumptions. These included slower than projected growth,
lower aircraft disposal gains, additional equipment depreciation,
higher interest expenses, and additional impairment charges. Fitch
believes Griffin would have sufficient liquidity headroom relative
to the threshold of 1.0x to withstand near-term reductions in
operating income in both scenarios. Fitch expects Griffin would
also retain sufficient capitalization headroom relative to the 4.0x
downgrade trigger under both scenarios.

The Stable Outlook reflects Fitch's expectation that Griffin will
manage its balance sheet growth in order to maintain sufficient
headroom relative to its targeted leverage range and Fitch's
negative rating sensitivities over the Outlook horizon, despite
Fitch's expectation for increased macro challenges including
elevated market volatility, rising interest rates and growing
inflation. The Stable Outlook also reflects expectations for the
maintenance of a strong liquidity position, given the lack of order
book purchase commitments with aircraft manufacturers.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade

Upon execution of the planned senior unsecured debt issuance, Fitch
would expect to convert Griffin's expected ratings to final
ratings. Failure to execute on the unsecured debt issuance would
likely result in the expected ratings being withdrawn or lowered.

Griffin's ratings could be downgraded should the company fail to
access the unsecured debt market by YE 2023, as this would
represent a fully secured funding profile with limited funding
flexibility. Beyond this, macroeconomic and/or geopolitical-driven
headwinds that pressure airlines and lead to additional lease
restructurings, rejections, lessee defaults, and increased losses
would be negative for ratings. A weakening of the company's
projected long-term cash flow generation, profitability and
liquidity coverage falling below 1.0x and/or a sustained increase
in leverage above 4.0x would also be viewed negatively.

Griffin's ownership by fixed-life private funds could also
contribute to negative rating action if it leads to elevated
capital extractions, of if a forced sale of the company at fund
maturity impairs Griffin's financial profile, franchise or
long-term strategic direction. Finally, an abrupt departure of
Griffin's founder and CEO could have negative rating implications
if said CEO departure impaired Griffin's franchise or long-term
strategic direction.

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade

Following issuance of the unsecured debt, Griffin's ratings could
be positively influenced by solid execution with respect to planned
growth targets and outlined long-term strategic financial
objectives, including maintenance of leverage below 2.75x. Ratings
could also benefit from enhanced scale and an improved risk profile
of the portfolio, as exhibited by greater diversity of airline
customers and maintenance of low impairments.

An upgrade would also be conditioned upon achieving a sustained net
spread above 5% and unsecured debt funding above 35% while
maintaining unencumbered assets coverage of unsecured debt in
excess of 1.0x. Any potential upward rating momentum would also be
evaluated in the context of potential long-term strategic
uncertainty, given Griffin's ownership by fixed-life private funds,
and potential governance and conflicts of interests associated with
Griffin's externally managed business model.

DEBT AND OTHER INSTRUMENT RATINGS: KEY RATING DRIVERS

The expected senior unsecured debt ratings are equalized with
Griffin's expected Long-Term IDR and reflect expectations for
average recovery prospects in a stress scenario given the
availability of unencumbered assets.

DEBT AND OTHER INSTRUMENT RATINGS: RATING SENSITIVITIES

The expected senior unsecured debt ratings are primarily sensitive
to Griffin's expected IDR and secondarily to the relative recovery
prospects of the instruments. A decline in unencumbered asset
coverage, combined with a material increase in secured debt,
relative to pro forma plans, could result in the notching of the
expected unsecured debt down from the IDR.

SUBSIDIARY AND AFFILIATE RATINGS: RATING SENSITIVITIES

The expected Long-Term IDR assigned to GGAM Finance Ltd. is
equalized with the expected IDR assigned to Griffin given it is a
wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. The expected rating
assigned to GGAM Finance Ltd. Is primarily sensitive to changes in
the expected IDR assigned to Griffin and is expected to move in
tandem.

ADJUSTMENTS

The Standalone Credit Profile (SCP) has been assigned in line with
the implied SCP.

The Sector Risk Operating Environment has been assigned in line
with the implied score. Regulatory and legal framework was
identified as a positive factor in the assessment.

The Business Profile has been assigned below the implied score due
to the following adjustment reasons: Market position (negative),
Business model (negative), Group benefits and risks (positive).

Capitalization & Leverage has been assigned below the implied the
score due to the following adjustment reason: Historical and future
metrics (negative).

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Griffin has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Management Strategy
due to the execution risk associated with the operational
implementation of the company's outlined strategy. This has a
negative impact on the credit profile and is relevant to the
ratings in conjunction with other factors.

Griffin has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Governance Structure
due to the potential governance and conflict of interests associate
with Griffin's externally-managed business model, limited number of
independent board members and ownership by a fixed-life private
fund structure. This also reflects key man risk related to its
founder and CEO, Ryan McKenna, who is leading the growth and
strategic direction of the company. This has a negative impact on
the credit profile and is relevant to the ratings in conjunction
with other factors.

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of
ESG credit relevance is a score of '3'. This means ESG issues are
credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity,
either due to their nature or the way in which they are being
managed by the entity.

   Entity/Debt             Rating        
   -----------             ------        
Griffin Global
Asset Management
Holdings, Ltd.      LT IDR BB(EXP)  Expected Rating

GGAM Finance Ltd.   LT IDR BB(EXP)  Expected Rating

   senior
   unsecured        LT     BB(EXP)  Expected Rating


SEAGATE HDD: Fitch Gives 'BB+' Rating on Senior Unsecured Notes
---------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has rated Seagate HDD Cayman's senior notes offering
'BB+'/'RR4'. The senior notes will be pari-passu with Seagate HDD
Cayman's existing and future senior unsecured obligations. They are
guaranteed on a fully and unconditional basis by parent, Seagate
Technology Holdings plc and Seagate Technology Unlimited Company.

Seagate will use net proceeds to redeem in full its 4.875% senior
notes due 2024 promptly following the offering; to repay $450
million in aggregate principal amount of the term loans outstanding
under its credit agreement; and for general corporate purposes,
which may include repayment of other outstanding indebtedness,
capital expenditures and other investments in the business.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Capital Allocation Prioritization: Fitch believes Seagate will need
to prioritize FCF for debt reduction over share repurchases over
the next 12-24 months in order to return credit metrics in line
with the current 'BB+' rating. This represents a departure from
Seagate's financial policies. Aside from the significant common
dividend, Seagate's stated commitment is to use at least 70% of
pre-dividend FCF for capital returns. Fitch typically would
forecast closer to 100%. With Fitch forecasting break-even
post-dividend FCF through fiscal 2024, share repurchases are likely
to be close to zero.

Profitability Profile: Fitch expects the magnitude of the downturn
to reset Seagate's baseline profitability below historical levels,
absent a robust recovery. Over the nearer term, Seagate has
announced cost reductions and lowered capital spending. The company
is targeting $200 million of run-rate savings starting in the first
quarter of fiscal 2024 at a largely cash-based pre-tax cost of $150
million. Over the longer term, Fitch anticipates EBITDA margins
will return to roughly 20% and, in conjunction with moderating
capital intensity, drive mid- to high-single digit FCF margins.

Secular Demand: Fitch believes robust demand for storage across
media types provides a path for modest positive organic long-term
revenue growth. Artificial intelligence and 5G-enabled applications
across computing environments will be a significant driver of
demand. Fitch expects the significant majority of data creation
will be cool/cold storage on lower cost hard-disk drive (HDD)-based
capacity drives in the public cloud, driving the bulk of Seagate's
long-term revenue growth, with surveillance penetration and gaming
markets leading the remainder of top-line growth.

Constructive Industry Conditions: Fitch believes Seagate's nearly
50% capacity drive market share supports constructive supply
conditions that should enable long-term profitable growth and solid
FCF margins. Seagate's intensified capital spending in recent years
and repurposing of existing capacity as legacy revenue declines,
should enable the company to manage capital spending at
structurally lower levels through the forecast period, including
more significant near-term cuts to capacity additions in order to
support FCF.

Meaningful Technology Risk: Fitch believes storage technology and
product risks remain meaningful, with regular areal density
increases required to offset significant pricing pressure to
sustain HDD's total cost of ownership (TCO) advantage over SSDs and
keep pace with its chief competitor, Western Digital. Energy
assist-based drives promise to provide a roughly decadelong roadmap
to drives of more than 50 terabytes (TB; versus 20TB drives
shipping today), reducing Seagate's technology risk. At the same
time, the breakdown of Moore's Law constrains SSD makers' ability
to close the TCO gap.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Seagate's position relative to the 'BB+' rating has weakened, given
Fitch's expectations for less than robust recovery from this
current severe downturn, which will constrain intermediate-term
profitability and FCF, pressuring credit metrics. Seagate's
operating profile hinges upon its strong market positions in HDDs,
significant barriers to entry from high investment intensity
required for meaningful market participation and secular demand for
storage solutions supporting higher-than global GDP long-term
revenue growth. However, expectations for break-even FCF in the
face of upcoming debt maturities has weakened the financial
flexibility and structure factors that underpin the rating.

Fitch views Seagate's operating profile as overall in line with
that of HDD competitor, Western Digital Corp. Together they
represent effectively all available capacity HDD supply, markets
benefitting from secular growth dynamics. However, Western
Digital's higher long-term growth prospects by virtue of its
exposure to flash are offset by far greater cyclicality, given a
less consolidated industry structure and more commodity-like nature
of flash products. Investment intensity ends up being similar for
Seagate and Western Digital mainly due to the latter's ability to
source NAND flash while sharing investment intensity with its JV
partner.

Fitch views Seagate's financial profile as weaker than that of
Western Digital, due to the latter's financial policies, including
prioritization of FCF for debt reduction to achieve a 1.5x-3.5x
EBITDA leverage range through the cycle and dividend suspension in
support of that target. Meanwhile, Seagate's lack of
publicly-articulated financial policies and prioritization of
capital returns, including debt funded share repurchases in
December 2020, are in line with a 'BB' rating category.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

- More than 30% negative revenue growth in fiscal 2023, driven by
customer inventory digestion and weak consumer and enterprise
spending;

- Market demand begins to recover in fiscal 2024, resulting revenue
growth in the teens before returning to low- to mid-single digit
average revenue growth in the outer forecast years;

- Operating EBITDA margins in the mid-teens in fiscal 2023-2024
before approaching 20% in the outer forecast years, driven by a
normalization of gross profit margins and the impact of operating
expense reduction initiatives;

- Days of inventory are flat in fiscal 2023 before slowly declining
through the forecast period;

- Capital intensity remains in the 3.5%-4.5% range;

- No acquisitions and paused stock buybacks until credit metrics
return to levels in line with the rating.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to positive
rating action/upgrade:

- Public commitment to manage debt levels for total leverage
sustained below 2.5x;

- Expectations for annual FCF margins consistently in the mid to
high single digits while growing revenue, structurally higher
market share and diversifying end market and product exposure.

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative
rating action/downgrade:

- Expectations for annual FCF sustained below $500 million or FCF
margins in the low single digits from persistently weaker than
expected revenue trends or profit margins, indicating poor
execution on its roadmap;

- Expectations for total leverage sustained above 3.0x, from debt
issuance to support debt-funded shareholder returns persistently in
excess of FCF.

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Adequate Liquidity: Fitch views Seagate's liquidity as adequate
and, as of March 31, 2023, consisted of $766 million in cash and
cash equivalents and an undrawn $1.75 billion senior unsecured
revolving credit facility expiring Oct. 14, 2026. FCF will be
modestly positive in fiscal 2023 and 2024 before returning to the
nearly $500 million annual FCF range in fiscal 2025.

ISSUER PROFILE

Seagate is a leading provider of data storage technology, primarily
hard disk drives, a market in which it has roughly 45% share.
Seagate focuses on storage solutions for edge-to-cloud service
providers, original equipment and design manufacturers, as well as
surveillance, gaming, digital video recording and attached storage
providers.

   Entity/Debt          Rating        Recovery   
   -----------          ------        --------   
Seagate HDD Cayman

   senior
   unsecured        LT BB+  New Rating   RR4


SEAGATE HDD: S&P Assigns 'BB' Rating on New Unsecured Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'BB' issue-level rating and '3'
recovery rating to Fremont, Calif.-based hard disk drive (HDD)
maker Seagate Technology Holdings PLC's (Seagate Technology) new
unsecured notes, the same rating S&P assigned to its existing
unsecured notes. Seagate Technology's subsidiary Seagate HDD Cayman
will be the borrower, and Seagate Technology and Seagate Technology
Unlimited Co. will be guarantors, the same obligors as Seagate's
existing notes. The company will offer up to $1 billion in
aggregate principal of notes due 2029 and 2031 and use the proceeds
to redeem the $500 million outstanding under its notes due 2024 and
repay $450 million of term loan principal. On May 19, 2023, Seagate
amended its credit agreement to temporarily loosen financial
covenants, which we believe provides adequate cushion. It intends
to repay $540 million of notes due June 2023 with proceeds from a
sale leaseback and balance sheet cash.

S&P said, "Our 'BB' issuer credit rating on Seagate remains
unchanged after we lowered it to 'BB' in April 2023. That downgrade
reflects a deeper and longer cyclical trough than we previously
expected. We now anticipate S&P Global Ratings-adjusted leverage
will peak at around 10x in fiscal 2023, falling only to 4.5x in
2024 and 2.5x in 2025. This compares with our previous forecast of
4.8x in 2023 and 2.6x in 2024. Leverage will be high for the
rating, but we expect interest coverage of 4x and free operating
cash flow (FOCF) to debt of around 10% in 2024 will support the
rating. We revised our forecast because of a longer-than-expected
inventory correction among hyperscale data center customers, a weak
recovery in China following the end of COVID-19 lockdowns, and a
weak macroeconomic environment that hurt enterprise IT and consumer
spending."

Issue Ratings -- Recovery Analysis

Key analytical factors

-- Seagate's capital structure includes an unsecured credit
facility and several tranches of unsecured notes.

-- S&P values Seagate on a going-concern basis because it believes
reorganization would yield more value for its creditors than
liquidation because the company's position in a consolidated market
and its HDD technology make it a viable business.

-- S&P values the company using a 6x multiple of its projected
emergence EBITDA, at the midpoint of the range of multiples it uses
for the technology hardware and semiconductor sector.

-- S&P's simulated default scenario assumes a payment default in
2028 due to a lack of industry supply discipline that increases
price competition among industry participants. This is compounded
by flash prices falling faster than we expect, which allows that
technology to capture more use cases from HDDs.

-- S&P treats claims from unsecured credit facility lenders as
having priority over the claims of bondholders because subsidiaries
that represent a significant share of the company's revenue and
profit guarantee the revolving credit facility and term loan but
not the notes.

Simulated default assumptions

-- Year of default: 2028
-- EBITDA at emergence: $1.1 billion
-- EBITDA multiple: 6x
-- Revolver: 85% drawn at default

Simplified waterfall

-- Net enterprise value (after 5% administrative costs): $6.0
billion

-- Priority claims: $2.6 billion

-- Value available to unsecured bondholder claims: $3.4 billion

-- Senior unsecured bond claims: $4.9 billion

    --Recovery expectations: 50%-70% (rounded estimate: 65%, capped
for unsecured debt)




===============
C O L O M B I A
===============

BANCO GNB: Fitch Affirms LongTerm IDRs at 'BB', Outlook Stable
--------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Banco GNB Sudameris S.A. (GNB) Long-Term
Foreign Currency and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs)
at 'BB', its Viability Rating (VR) at 'bb' and its Government
Support Rating (GSR) at 'b+'. The Rating Outlook for GNB is
Stable.

Fitch is affirming and simultaneously withdrawing Gilex Holding
S.A.'s (GH) Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default
Ratings (IDR) at 'BB-' and Short-Term Foreign and Local Currency
IDR at 'B'. The Rating Outlook of the Long-Term IDRs was Stable
prior to the ratings withdrawal. Fitch has withdrawn the ratings
for commercial reasons. Fitch will no longer provide ratings or
analytical coverage for this entity.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Operating Environment Pressures: Fitch expects the operating
environment (OE) for Colombian banks to remain stable and
consistent with the 'bb' factor score, despite its expectation for
slowing GDP growth and high interest rates throughout 2023 to
address a persistent inflation. Fitch believes GNB's conservative
risk profile, diverse business model, strong asset quality and
liquidity, along with improving profitability, provide sufficient
resilience to face the stresses brought by the current challenging
operating environments of Colombia, Peru and Paraguay.

Strengthened Franchise: GNB's IDRs are driven by the bank's VR,
which is aligned with its implied VR. The bank's business profile
continues to be diverse with a dual focus in the wholesale and
lower risk retail segments in Colombia, Paraguay and Peru. Fitch
also takes into account the bank's strong market positions in
payroll-backed lending products known locally as 'Libranza'. The
bank has made significant progress in 2022 in growing its digital
banking capabilities and greatly expanding the number of digital
customers, which is expected to lower operational costs, as well as
consolidating its local position in Paraguay. Despite the bank's
relevant presence outside of Colombia, its Operating Environment
score of 'bb' is due to its operations in Colombia.

Conservative Risk Profile: The bank's business and risk profile
assessment of 'bb+' considers its consolidated retail segment
exposure, which is composed mostly of lower-risk, payroll-backed
loans. At YE December 2022, GNB's payroll lending portfolio
represented approximately 8% of total system lending. Fitch also
takes into account the conservative underwriting policies for its
consolidated commercial segment focused on medium to large sized
companies with high levels of collateral.

Solid Asset Quality Metrics: The bank'ssset quality remains strong
and compares very well with domestic and regional peers. Fitch
expects the bank's conservative policies, relatively robust
underwriting standards and adequate risk controls to help maintain
solid asset quality for the foreseeable future. As of December
2022, the bank's ratio of 90-day past-due loans (PDL) to total
loans deteriorated slightly to 2.1% from 1.9% at YE21, but remains
among the lowest in the Colombian banking system. Broken down by
geography, Colombia and Peru improved their PDL over 90 days ratio
to 1.0% and 3.5%, respectively, while Paraguay deteriorated to
2.8%. Loan loss reserve ratios were at a comfortable level of 171%.
Credit concentration also compares well with regional peers. The
top-20 borrowers represented approximately 1.2x CET1.

Low Profitability: Operating profit to risk weighted assets (RWAs)
slightly improved to 1.0% at December 2022 after having weakened to
0.9% as of YE21 due to the bank's focus on asset quality and
liquidity preference. However, the level remains weaker than local
and regional peers. Amid NIM pressures due to high interest rates
and increasingly higher operating expenses stemming from the merger
in Paraguay and the FX impact, the improvement in profitability is
explained by lower loan impairment charges and non-interest income
contribution linked with treasury gains. Fitch expects operating
profitability to RWA remain relatively stable at around 1.0%,
spured by limited growth, cost control and continued treasury
contribution to total revenues.

Weak Capital Ratios: The bank's 'b+' capitalization metric
continues to be its weakest rating factor. As of December 2022, the
bank's common equity Tier 1 (CET1) to RWA ratio decreased to 8.3%
from 9.4% as of YE21 underpinned by higher loan growth and lower
profitability. This metric continues to compare below Latin
American peers in the 'bb' category and is expected to remain
stable at around 8% due to lower economic growth. The ample loan
loss reserves, low risk appetite and strong asset quality partially
mitigate the lower CET1 ratio. The total capital ratio as of
December 2022 was 17.5%.

Sound Liquidity: GNB is amply funded by customer deposits, which
accounted for slightly above 70% of total non-equity funding as of
December 2022. Deposit concentration is high as the top-20
depositors represented approximately a third of total deposits as
of December 2022. The bank has a good loans to deposits ratio of
74% at YE 2022 and high liquidity; these support the 'bb+' funding
and liquidity score.

Possible Government Support: The bank's Government Support Rating
of 'b+' is driven by its moderate systemic importance as a market
maker and its payroll lending share of the Colombian market of
nearly 8%. GNB is also working to grow its share of retail
deposits, though this metric is still a modest 3.3% when compared
with local systemically important banks. Fitch believes there is a
limited probability that the bank would receive sovereign support
if needed, which underpins its GSR.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade

- Negative VR and IDR pressure would arise if the CET1 ratio
   is consistently below 9% and the operating profit to RWA ratio
   continues below 1.25% while its business model deteriorates.

- The ratings are sensitive to OE deterioration;

- GNB's GSR would be affected by a negative change in Fitch's
   perception of the government's willingness and ability to
   support the bank.

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade

- The ratings could be positively affected if the bank sustains
   or rebuilds its profitability;

- Upside potential depends heavily upon material improvement
   in GNB's capitalization and profitability. An upgrade to
   the VR and IDRs could occur if the bank can reach and
   sustain a CET1 Capital ratio greater than 14% while
   avoiding material deterioration of its other financial
   and qualitative credit fundamentals, with consistently
   better results, in the form of operating profit over RWAs
   greater than 2.5%;

- GNB's GSR would be affected by a positive change in
   the bank's systemic importance that would affect
   Fitch's perception of the government's willingness
   and ability to support the bank.

OTHER DEBT AND ISSUER RATINGS: KEY RATING DRIVERS

GNB's subordinated debt and Tier 2 subordinated debt are rated two
notches below its VR to reflect their subordinated status and
expected high loss severity. The rating on the Tier 2 notes does
not incorporate incremental non-performance risk, given the
relatively low write-off trigger (Regulatory CET1 ratio at or below
4.5%) and considering the fact that coupons are not deferrable or
cancellable before the principal write-off trigger is activated.

OTHER DEBT AND ISSUER RATINGS: RATING SENSITIVITIES

- The subordinated debt rating of GNB's issuances is two notches
below GNB's VR anchor. As such, the rating will move in tandem with
the anchor rating;

- The rating is also sensitive to a wider notching from the VR if
there is a change in Fitch's view on the non-performance risk of
these instruments on a going-concern basis, which is not the
baseline scenario.

SUBSIDIARIES & AFFILIATES: KEY RATING DRIVERS

GH

GH's ratings are driven by the business and financial profile of
its main operating subsidiary, (GNB; BB/Stable). Moderate double
leverage and good cash flow metrics also support GH's ratings. GH
acts as a non-operating holding company reliant on dividend income
from GNB, owning 94.72% of GNB shares.

GH's Long-Term IDRs are one notch below those of GNB, reflecting
GH's double leverage, which was 1.20x as of December 2022. The
rating also considers the entity's different jurisdiction (Panama)
relative to its main subsidiary (Colombia) and GNB's sound
competitive position in multiple jurisdictions. On May 2023, Gilex
has fully repaid its outstanding senior secured notes.

SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES: RATING SENSITIVITIES

Sensitivities are not applicable as the ratings have been
withdrawn.

VR ADJUSTMENTS

The earnings and profitability score has been assigned above the
implied score due to the following adjustment reason: Historical
and Future Metrics (positive).

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

At the moment of the withdrawal Gilex Holding S.A. has an ESG
Relevance Score of '4' for Governance Structure due to key person
risk, which has a negative impact on the credit profile, and is
relevant to the ratings in conjunction with other factors.

Following the withdrawal of ratings for Gilex Holding S.A. Fitch
will no longer be providing the associated ESG Relevance Scores.

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of
ESG credit relevance is a score of '3' for GNB. This means ESG
issues are credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on
the entity, either due to their nature or the way in which they are
being managed by the entity.

   Entity/Debt                     Rating         Prior
   -----------                     ------         -----
Gilex Holding
S.A.             LT IDR             BB- Affirmed    BB-
                 LT IDR             WD  Withdrawn   BB-
                 ST IDR             B   Affirmed     B
                 ST IDR             WD  Withdrawn    B
                 LC LT IDR          BB- Affirmed    BB-
                 LC LT IDR          WD  Withdrawn   BB-    
                 LC ST IDR          B   Affirmed     B
                 LC ST IDR          WD  Withdrawn    B

Banco GNB
Sudameris S.A.   LT IDR             BB  Affirmed    BB
                 ST IDR             B   Affirmed     B
                 LC LT IDR          BB  Affirmed    BB
                 LC ST IDR          B   Affirmed     B
                 Viability          bb  Affirmed    bb
                 Government Support b+  Affirmed     b+

   subordinated  LT                 B+  Affirmed     B+


ITAU COLOMBIA: Fitch Affirms LongTerm IDRs at 'BB', Outlook Stable
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Itau Colombia S.A.'s (Itau Colombia)
Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs)
at 'BB', Viability Rating (VR) at 'bb' and Shareholder Support
Rating (SSR) at 'bb-'. The Rating Outlook for the Long-Term IDRs is
Stable.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

VR-Driven Ratings: Itau Colombia's IDRs are driven by the bank's VR
and higher than its SSR. The VR is one notch above the 'bb-'
implied VR and reflects the bank's prudent risk profile. This has a
positive impact on the bank's credit profile given the strong risk
policies handed down by its parent and its conservative management
approach. The assessment also considers the bank's business
profile, underpinned by its ultimate shareholder's expansion
strategy and business model, which Fitch considers of strategic
importance to consolidate the bank's market position in Colombia.
The rating also reflects Itau Colombia's low profitability and
moderate risk profile, resulting in controlled asset quality
metrics. The weaker core capital metrics than regional peers are
also factored into the rating.

Operating Environment Pressures: Fitch expects the operating
environment for Colombian banks to remain stable and consistent
with the 'bb' factor score, despite its expectation for slowing GDP
growth and high interest rates throughout 2023 to address
persistent inflation. Fitch believes the capitalization levels
benefit from ordinary support, improving profitability and lower
loan impairment charges provide Itau Colombia room to face the OE
stress.

Itau's Group Regional Expansion: The bank continues to extensively
implement Itau Unibanco Holding's (Itau, BB/Stable) expansion
strategy and business model, which Fitch considers strategically
important to consolidate the bank's presence in Colombia. Itau
Colombia has a consistent business model, with focus on corporate
business and medium to high income retail clients. The bank has a
market share of 3.1% by assets (Dec. 22), the eighth position in
loans, the ninth position in deposits and the third largest
international franchise. The bank is prudent in terms of risk
appetite and has limited pricing power.

Itau's Risk Policies: Itau Colombia's risk profile is aligned with
its parent's policies and improvements on asset quality is
supported also on adjustments in its business profile and continues
tuning on its risk models and risk controls. The bank's risk
management structure is fully integrated with that of its parent,
and it applies all of Itau's global risk management policies in
Chile and Brazil. The risk appetite of the entity follows a global
statement, core and specific risk metrics and capital consumption.

Good Asset Quality: Fitch expects Itau Colombia's asset quality to
remain around 3.0% in 2023 due to the bank's focus on less riskier
segments and approach to the lower economic growth and higher
interest rate environment. However, high inflation and interest
rates still weigh on borrowers. The bank's loan performance has
proved resilient to date due to continued tuning of its internal
models and ongoing monitoring of the loan portfolio and warning
signals, as well as a strengthened collection process. Consolidated
Stage 3 loans decreased to 2.8% of gross loans at YE 2022 from 3.9%
at YE 2021 while reserve coverage increases to 163% (March 2023 90
days PDL: 2.7%).

Low Profitability Explained by Corporate Focus: Itau Colombia's
profitability is low relative to peers due to the bank's corporate
focus and limited size. Operating profitability in 2022 reflected
limited asset growth and net interest margins pressures due to
higher inflation offset by cost controls. The bank's operating
profit to RWA ratio was low at 0.2% in December 2022 but above
negative 0.43% on average from 2018-2021. Fitch expects the
profitability core metric ratio to slightly improve to 0.8% at
YE2023. High interest rates should benefit net interest margins,
but limited loan growth amid an uncertain operating environment
challenges the bank's performance. Its efforts to increase
profitability and consolidate its business plan have started to
materialize.

Tight Capital Ratios: Fitch's capitalization score is above the
implied level of 'b'. However, Fitch considers Itau Colombia's
potential to receive capital injections (ordinary support) if
required from its ultimate parent (Itau Unibanco), resulting in a
positive adjustment to the bank's implied capitalization and
leverage score. The banks CET1 was 9.9% at December 2022. Fitch
expects a common equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio at or slightly below
10% in 2023. The assessment assumes a lower but positive trend in
internal capital generation, ample loan loss reserves and adequate
risk management that further supports the bank's loss absorption
capacity. Fitch views the bank's capital as relatively tight when
compared to other rated institutions in similar operating
environments (universal commercial banks in a 'bb' operating
environment).

Reasonable Funding and Liquidity: The bank maintains good liquidity
levels that somewhat offset its concentrated liability structure.
Itau Colombia's moderate franchise limits its competitive advantage
and influences funding costs. The bank has made a significant
effort toward growing low-cost and stable funding. The bank's loans
to deposits ratio was 123% at YE 2022 due to the use of mid- to
long-term time deposits, bond issuances, and credit lines. The
deposit structure is increasingly composed of stable resources, in
line with more conservative liquidity policies and liquidity
coverage ratios. The deposit base has also been stable in recent
years but concentrated, with a gradual increase of term deposits
due changes in the Colombian market and NSFR requirements. The top
20 depositors represented 22% of total deposits.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade

- A material deterioration of asset quality and a consistent
negative profitability trend that cause a sustained decline in the
CET1 ratio below 9% (assuming excess reserve maintenance and a
challenging operating environment).

Itau Colombia's SSR would be affected by a negative change in
Itau's ability or willingness to support the bank. Although Fitch
considers the subsidiary's credit profile mostly independent from
its ultimate parent, the VR and IDRs may be pressured in a scenario
of further downgrades of Itau Unibanco Holding (BB/Negative), due
to Fitch's criteria, which states that the intrinsic credit profile
of a subsidiary bank cannot be completely delinked from that of its
parent.

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade

  - Demonstrated capacity to sustain improvements in earnings and
    asset quality metrics; and

  - Maintaining a CET1 to RWA ratio consistently higher than 12%
    and an operating profit to RWA above 2.0%; and

  - Operating environment improvements that allows for relatively
    faster loan growth.

  - A positive change in Itau's ability or willingness to support
    the bank would positively influence Itau Colombia's SSR.

Shareholder Support Rating: Fitch believes that Itau Colombia is
strategically important to Itau Unibanco Holding (BB/Stable),
underpinning Itau Unibanco's support rating of 'bb-'. Therefore,
Fitch anticipates support from the parent, if required. However,
Itau Colombia's ratings are higher than those implied by the
potential for support from its ultimate parent in consideration of
its own intrinsic credit profile given Colombia's operating
environment is stronger than Brazil's.

VR ADJUSTMENTS

The VR is one notch above the 'bb-' implied rating due to the
following adjustment reason: risk profile (positive).

The Capitalization and Leverage score of 'bb-' has been assigned
above the 'b' category implied score due to the following
adjustment reason: Capital Flexibility and Ordinary Support
(positive).

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of
ESG credit relevance is a score of '3'. ESG issues are credit
neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity, either
due to their nature or the way in which they are being managed by
the entity.

   Entity/Debt                          Rating        Prior
   -----------                          ------        -----
Itau Colombia S.A.   LT IDR              BB  Affirmed   BB
                     ST IDR              B  Affirmed     B
                     LC LT IDR           BB  Affirmed   BB
                     LC ST IDR           B  Affirmed     B
                     Viability           bb  Affirmed   bb
                     Shareholder Support bb-  Affirmed  bb-




===================================
D O M I N I C A N   R E P U B L I C
===================================

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Abinader Provided Construction Facilities
-------------------------------------------------------------
Dominican Today reports that Minister of Public Works and
Communications, Deligne Ascencion, highlighted the efforts of
President Luis Abinader's government to streamline construction
permits and invest in the construction sector, aiding in the
recovery from the post-pandemic crisis. He reported that the
government is executing around 600 road infrastructure projects
throughout the country, contributing to the stabilization and
strengthening of the nation's economy.

One of the significant projects mentioned by Ascencion is the
Guayubin Montecristi highway, which connects four provinces and
various communities known for producing a wide range of goods such
as rice, bananas, cassava, aloe vera, and livestock, according to
Dominican Today.  The highway also serves as a direct route to the
port of Manzanillo, which plays a crucial role in boosting the
development of the entire Northern region, contributing
significantly to the country's exports, the report notes.

Additionally, Ascencion highlighted projects in the province of
Pedernales, including the completion phase of the Barahona
-Enriquillo highway and the construction of the Baní ring road.
These projects aim to improve connectivity and bring Pedernales
closer to the capital, maximizing its potential as a destination,
the report discloses.

The minister emphasized that the road connectivity developed by
President Luis Abinader through the Ministry of Public Works and
Communications has played a crucial role in the development of
tourism in the country, the report relays.  He cited the road
infrastructure in the eastern region as particularly significant,
as well as the investments along the Duarte highway from kilometer
9 to Montecristi, which have already shown positive effects, the
report notes.

Furthermore, Ascencion highlighted the government's focus on the
housing sector, particularly the investment made in Santo Domingo
Este. The investment aims to enhance the well-being of residents
and build trust among private developers who have invested heavily
in housing projects in the municipality, the report adds.

Minister Ascencion's remarks were made during the inauguration of
the 33rd construction fair, Construexpo, led by Vice President
Raquel Pena and attended by notable representatives from the
construction sector in the Dominican Republic, the report says.
The fair showcases innovations in engineering, architecture,
structural design, urban planning, and other specialties within the
construction sector, the report notes.

              About Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean nation that shares the island
of Hispaniola with Haiti to the west. Capital city Santo Domingo
has Spanish landmarks like the Gothic Catedral Primada de America
dating back 5 centuries in its Zona Colonial district. Luis Rodolfo
Abinader Corona is the current president of the nation.

TCRLA reported in April 2019 that the Dominican To related that
Juan Del Rosario of the UASD Economic Faculty cited a current
economic slowdown for the Dominican Republic and cautioned that if
the trend continues, growth would reach only 4% by 2023. Mr. Del
Rosario said that if that happens, "we'll face difficulties in
meeting international commitments."

An ongoing concern in the Dominican Republic is the inability of
participants in the electricity sector to establish financial
viability for the system.

Fitch Ratings, in December 2021, revised the Outlook on Dominican
Republic's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR)
to Stable from Negative and affirmed the IDRs at 'BB-'.The
revision of the Outlook to Stable reflects the narrowing of
Dominican Republic's government deficit and financing needs since
Fitch's last review resulting in the stabilization of the
government debt/GDP ratio, as well as the investment-driven
economic momentum, reflected in the faster-than-expected economic
recovery in 2021 that Fitch expects to carry into above-potential
GDP growth during 2022 and 2023.

Standard & Poor's, also in December 2021, revised its outlook on
the Dominican Republic to stable from negative.S&P also
affirmed its 'BB-' long-term foreign and local currency sovereign
credit ratings and its 'B' short-term sovereign credit ratings. The
stable outlook reflects S&P's expectation of continued favorable
GDP growth and policy continuity over the next 12 to 18 months that
will likely stabilize the government's debt burden, despite lack of
progress with broader tax reforms, S&P said.A rapid economic
recovery from the downturn because of the pandemic should mitigate
external and fiscal risks.

Moody's affirmed the Dominican Republic's long-term issuer and
senior unsecured ratings at Ba3 and maintained the stable outlook
in March 2021.


DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Unions Propose to Cut Working Day to 40 Hours
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dominican Today reports that the unions in the Dominican Republic
are seeking changes to the Labor Code, aiming for a maximum weekly
working hours reduction from 44 to 40, and a shift in the start of
night hours from 9 pm to 7 pm. Specifically, the union
representation proposes an amendment to Article 147 of the current
Labor Code.

The proposed modification states, "The normal duration of the
workday is determined in the contract and should not exceed eight
hours per day or forty hours per week," according to Dominican
Today.  However, they suggest that, upon the employer's request,
the Minister of Labor may authorize extending the daily workday to
ten hours, as long as the weekly limit is not exceeded, the report
notes.

Currently, the working day in the country is set at a maximum of
eight hours per day or 44 hours per week, the report notes.
Additionally, the weekly workday ends at 12 noon on Saturday.
Furthermore, the unions are proposing an increase in the
uninterrupted weekly rest period, currently set at 36 hours, to 48
hours, the report discloses.  They suggest that this rest period
should commence at 8 am on Saturday, in the absence of any other
agreed-upon day, the report notes.  The existing regulations define
the daytime working hours as 7 am to 9 pm and the nighttime hours
as 9 pm to 7 am, the report says.  However, the unions propose
shifting the end of the daytime session to 7 pm, initiating the
nighttime session from that time until 7 am, the report discloses.

The Labor Code of the Dominican Republic dates back to 1992.
Tripartite discussions involving employers, unions, and the
government resumed last year with the objective of modernizing the
code, the report relays.  According to the Minister of Labor, Luis
Miguel De Camps, 87% of the code's content has reached a consensus,
the report relates.  However, discussions have stalled when it
comes to critical issues, and the unions have expressed that the
working hours have not yet been addressed, the report discloses.
The business sector has not taken a position on the unions'
proposed working hours as it has not been discussed in the
tripartite dialogue, the report says. Laura Pena Izquierdo, the
president of the Employers' Confederation of the Dominican Republic
(Copardom), stated to Diario Libre that they are in the process of
reaching an agreement on the proposed modifications to the Labor
Code, the report notes.

If the union proposal is approved, the Dominican Republic would
join countries like Chile, which recently passed a law reducing the
working week from 45 to 40 hours in April 2023, the report notes.
The implementation of the new law in Chile will be phased in over
the next five years: initially reduced to 44 hours after one year,
then 42 hours after three years, and eventually reaching 40 hours
after five years, the report relays. The business community in
Chile has observed that this change will impact labor costs and
require restructuring, the report discloses. In recent years,
several countries have conducted trials to reduce the working week
to four days, the report notes.  For instance, in the United
Kingdom, between June and December 2022, approximately 2,900
employees across 61 companies worked on a four-day week schedule,
the report relays.  The published results indicate that 39% of
employees experienced reduced stress levels, and 71% reported a
decrease in exhaustion by the end of the trial period. Business
revenues remained relatively stable, with an average increase of
1.4% during the testing phase, the report adds.

              About Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean nation that shares the island
of Hispaniola with Haiti to the west. Capital city Santo Domingo
has Spanish landmarks like the Gothic Catedral Primada de America
dating back 5 centuries in its Zona Colonial district. Luis Rodolfo
Abinader Corona is the current president of the nation.

TCRLA reported in April 2019 that the Dominican To related that
Juan Del Rosario of the UASD Economic Faculty cited a current
economic slowdown for the Dominican Republic and cautioned that if
the trend continues, growth would reach only 4% by 2023. Mr. Del
Rosario said that if that happens, "we'll face difficulties in
meeting international commitments."

An ongoing concern in the Dominican Republic is the inability of
participants in the electricity sector to establish financial
viability for the system.

Fitch Ratings, in December 2021, revised the Outlook on Dominican
Republic's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR)
to Stable from Negative and affirmed the IDRs at 'BB-'.The
revision of the Outlook to Stable reflects the narrowing of
Dominican Republic's government deficit and financing needs since
Fitch's last review resulting in the stabilization of the
government debt/GDP ratio, as well as the investment-driven
economic momentum, reflected in the faster-than-expected economic
recovery in 2021 that Fitch expects to carry into above-potential
GDP growth during 2022 and 2023.

Standard & Poor's, also in December 2021, revised its outlook on
the Dominican Republic to stable from negative.S&P also
affirmed its 'BB-' long-term foreign and local currency sovereign
credit ratings and its 'B' short-term sovereign credit ratings. The
stable outlook reflects S&P's expectation of continued favorable
GDP growth and policy continuity over the next 12 to 18 months that
will likely stabilize the government's debt burden, despite lack of
progress with broader tax reforms, S&P said.A rapid economic
recovery from the downturn because of the pandemic should mitigate
external and fiscal risks.

Moody's affirmed the Dominican Republic's long-term issuer and
senior unsecured ratings at Ba3 and maintained the stable outlook
in March 2021.




=============
E C U A D O R
=============

ECUADOR: Fitch Alters Outlook on 'B-' Foreign Curr. IDR to Negative
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Ecuador's Long-Term Foreign-Currency
Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B-' with a Negative Rating Outlook.
The Rating Outlook is revised to Negative from Stable.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Negative Outlook: Downside credit risks to Ecuador's ratings are
elevated amid prolonged political uncertainty and potential for
renewed social unrest. President Guillermo Lasso's recent
disbanding of Congress could impact investment and growth
prospects. In Fitch's opinion, ongoing governability challenges and
weakening of political stability will continue hindering the
sovereign's chances of regaining market access and may weaken its
macro and fiscal trajectory relative to 'B' rated peers.

'B-' Ratings Affirmed: The rating reflects fairly high per-capita
income, strengthened external liquidity, and a favorable debt
service profile after recent debt restructurings. These factors are
balanced by weak economic growth, a poor debt-repayment record,
heightened political risk and economic policy uncertainties.

Political Dysfunction Impacts Financing Options: President Lasso
disbanded the National Assembly on May 17, 2023 to avoid
impeachment. This action prolonged political uncertainty and could
prompt fresh protests from indigenous and leftist groups,
complicating Ecuador's chances of regaining market access and
securing an IMF successor program. The left-leaning legislature
attempted to impeach Lasso on charges of embezzlement. The trial
had gained momentum after February's national referendum, with
Lasso failing to gain support for political reforms amid low
approval and his CREO party doing poorly in local elections.

The constitutional measure, "muerte cruzada", that Lasso invoked to
dissolve Congress allows him to rule by decree for up to six months
before advancing general elections, which have already been
scheduled for August. A new president and Congress will govern
until the end of the original term (mid-2025). In Fitch's view,
near- and medium-term political uncertainties have risen,
especially as left-leaning parties may be well-positioned to make
electoral gains in the August elections. The presidential vote
could go to a second round in October.

Instability Weighs on Growth: Fitch has revised its 2023 real GDP
growth forecast down from 2.1% to 1.6% (vs 2.9% in 2022). This
compares unfavorably to the 'B' median of 3.0% and follows a
lackluster post-pandemic recovery. Fitch expects investment
prospects to be impacted by the ongoing political uncertainty and
the potential for renewed social unrest and for private consumption
to weaken (vs. 2022 levels) amid strong but softening growth in
credit and remittances. Net exports should support activity
somewhat as the growth rate of import demand falls while
non-traditional export volumes rise and offset some of the decline
in oil output.

Fiscal Deficit to Widen: Fitch expects the central government
fiscal deficit to widen to 2.2% of GDP in 2023 (vs. 1.2% in 2022),
slightly above the government's pro forma 2023 budget target of
2.1%, but below 'B' peers of 2.9%. Fitch anticipates revenues will
fall modestly (the budget assumes an increase) relative to 2022
levels due to slower growth, lower oil receipts (both production
and prices have fallen), and the negative impact of Lasso's
recently passed tax cuts.

While the budget envisions USD1 billion in revenues from the sale
of government assets (e.g. Sopladora Hydro plant and Monteverde
Terminal), Fitch believes this is unlikely in 2023. Fitch also
forecasts higher expenditures from rises in teachers' salaries and
social security transfers, government actions to address discontent
from rising violent crime and lingering demands from indigenous
groups, and the higher cost of a sizeable stock of floating-rate
debt. Fitch expects these pressures will be partially offset by
cuts in capital expenditure, but scope for this has narrowed in the
past decade.

Financing Challenges: Fitch expects central government financing
needs of USD9.8 billion (8.5% of GDP), in 2023, which is in line
with 2022 levels. In Fitch's view, amid the political turmoil, the
sovereign will not be able to raise financing in the external bond
market or via an IMF successor program and will manage with support
from non-IMF official creditors and some domestic financing. The
government may need to reduce expenses or build arrears should
these funding sources fail to materialize or should revenues
underperform.

The 2020 debt restructuring, last year's rescheduling of loans to
China, and the debt-for-nature swap have offered near-term
financing relief. However, Fitch expects financing challenges to
rise in the medium term as fiscal accounts remain under pressure,
debt to the IMF comes due beginning in 2025, and coupons on
restructured external bonds continue to step up until maturities
come due beginning in 2026.

Debt-for-Nature Swap Not a DDE: On May 9, 2023, Ecuador closed the
world's largest debt-for-nature swap, exchanging USD1.63 billion of
its 2030, 2035, and 2040 notes for a USD656 million loan with the
GPS Blue Financing special purpose vehicle. The transaction cut
sovereign debt service by USD1.13 billion and committed Ecuador to
marine conservation in the Galapagos. In Fitch's view, the
sovereign did not enter this transaction to avoid a traditional
debt default, and therefore it is not a Distressed Debt Exchange
(DDE).

Debt Falls, Projected to Stabilize: Fitch expects gross general
government debt, GGGD, (encompassing non-financial public-sector
loans and bonds, and including one debt-like liability not included
in official figures) to fall to 60.3% of GDP in 2023 (vs 61.8% in
2022) following the debt-for-nature swap, though it compares
unfavorably with the 'B' rated peer median of 54.7%. Fitch projects
GGGD to GDP to remain broadly stable at 61%-62% over the medium
term as GDP growth moderates to its low trend pace and fiscal
deficits widen. However, other debt metrics compare more favorably
to the 'B' median, with government interest/revenues of 4.9% under
the 'B' median of 10.9% in 2022. Nevertheless, Fitch expects this
ratio to rise over time as the effects of higher global interest
rates and step-up coupons on restructured bonds feed through.

Better External Liquidity Position: Fitch expects Ecuador's current
account surplus to stabilize at 1.7% of GDP in 2023 (vs 2.4% in
2022). The current account surplus and multilateral loans have
supported historically high international reserve levels, which
stood at USD8.1 billion as of April versus a low of under USD2
billion in March 2020. The stronger liquidity position of the
central bank (BCE) has strengthened the foundations of Ecuador's
dollarization regime, which has been guided by the Defense of
Dollarization Law. BCE reserves now provide full coverage of bank
reserves (a target set for 2025 under the law) and the reserve
requirements of other financial institutions (a target set for
2035), but they are still insufficient to cover public-sector
deposits (a target set for 2035).

Country Ceiling Upgrade: The upgrade of Ecuador's Country Ceiling
to 'B' from 'B-' reflects Fitch's view that risks of
foreign-exchange controls have improved in light of the substantial
improvement in central bank reserves and the broader external
liquidity position. The authorities have been phasing out the
principal capital flow management measure (the ISD tax on exchange
outflows).

ESG - Governance: Ecuador has an ESG Relevance Score (RS) of '5'
for both Political Stability and Rights and for the Rule of Law,
Institutional and Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption.
Theses scores reflect the high weight that the World Bank
Governance Indicators (WBGI) have in its proprietary Sovereign
Rating Model. Ecuador has a low WBGI percentile ranking at 38.5
reflecting a rising political uncertainty, moderate voice and
accountability, moderately weak rule of law and government
effectiveness, and weak control of corruption.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade

- Structural: Political and social uncertainty that impacts access
to external markets or the sovereign's willingness to honor debt
repayments;

- Public Finances: Intensification of financing stress due to
failure to sustain gains from fiscal consolidation efforts or
secure adequate financing, posing a risk to sovereign payment
capacity.

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade

- Structural: Easing of political gridlock and uncertainty over the
near- and medium-term that improves governability, and/or access to
external markets;

- Public Finances: Fiscal consolidation that supports a sustained
reduction in government financing needs and a downward trajectory
for general government debt/GDP over the medium term, and
improvement in financing access.

SOVEREIGN RATING MODEL (SRM) AND QUALITATIVE OVERLAY (QO)

Fitch's proprietary SRM assigns Ecuador a score equivalent to a
rating of 'B+' on the Long-Term Foreign-Currency (LT FC) IDR
scale.

Fitch's sovereign rating committee adjusted the output by -2
notches from the SRM score to arrive at the final LT FC IDR of 'B-'
by applying its Qualitative Overlay (QO), relative to SRM data and
output, as follows:

- Structural: -1 notch, to reflect the elevated political
uncertainty that could heighten the risk of sovereign debt
default.

- Public Finances: -1 notch, to reflect ongoing fiscal and
financing challenges that have increased amid heightened political
uncertainty, complicating Ecuador's access to external financing
resources.

Fitch's SRM is the agency's proprietary multiple regression rating
model that employs 18 variables based on three-year centred
averages, including one year of forecasts, to produce a score
equivalent to a LT FC IDR. Fitch's QO is a forward-looking
qualitative framework designed to allow for adjustment to the SRM
output to assign the final rating, reflecting factors within its
criteria that are not fully quantifiable and/or not fully reflected
in the SRM.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Ecuador has an ESG Relevance Score of '5' for Political Stability
and Rights as WBGI have the highest weight in Fitch's SRM and are
therefore highly relevant to the rating and a key rating driver
with a high weight. As Ecuador has a percentile rank below 50 for
the respective governance Indicator, this has a negative impact on
the credit profile.

Ecuador has an ESG Relevance Score of '5' for Rule of Law,
Institutional & Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption as
WBGI have the highest weight in Fitch's SRM and are therefore
highly relevant to the rating and a key rating driver with a high
weight. As Ecuador has a percentile rank below 50 for the
respective governance indicator, this has a negative impact on the
credit profile.

Ecuador has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Human Rights and
Political Freedoms as the Voice and Accountability pillar of the
WBGI is relevant to the rating and a rating driver. As Ecuador has
a percentile rank below 50 for the respective governance indicator,
this has a negative impact on the credit profile.

Ecuador has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Creditor Rights as
willingness to service and repay debt is relevant to the rating and
is a rating driver for Ecuador, as for all sovereigns. As Ecuador
has a fairly recent restructuring of public debt in 2020, this has
a negative impact on the credit profile.

Except for the matters discussed above, the highest level of ESG
credit relevance, if present, is a score of 3. This means ESG
issues are credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on
the entity(ies), either due to their nature or to the way in which
they are being managed by the entity(ies).

   Entity/Debt                 Rating        Prior
   -----------                 ------        -----
Ecuador         LT IDR          B- Affirmed     B-

                ST IDR          B  Affirmed     B

                Country Ceiling B  Upgrade      B-

   senior
   unsecured    LT              B- Affirmed     B-




===============
S U R I N A M E
===============

SURINAME: IMF Reached Deal on 2nd Review of Economic Reform
-----------------------------------------------------------
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Ms. Anastasia
Guscina conducted virtual and in-person mission with the Surinamese
authorities during May 8-16 to discuss policies to complete the
second review of Suriname's economic recovery program supported by
the IMF's Extended Fund Facility.

At the conclusion of the mission, Ms. Guscina issued the following
statement:

"The IMF team and the Surinamese authorities have reached a
staff-level agreement on the second review of Suriname's economic
reform program supported by the 36-month EFF arrangement. This
agreement is subject to approval by the IMF's Executive Board,
contingent on the implementation by the authorities of prior
actions and fulfillment of all relevant Fund policies. Upon
completion of this review, Suriname will have access to SDR 39.4
million (about USD 53 million), bringing total program
disbursements to date to SDR 118.2 million (about USD 159
million).

"Assuming concerted implementation of Suriname's reform program,
recovery will continue amid moderating inflation. Growth is
projected to recover to 2.3 percent in 2023 and converge to the 3
percent potential next year, with real GDP remaining below its
pre-pandemic level until 2028. Fiscal consolidation and monetary
tightening will facilitate a gradual decline in inflation to 36
percent by end-2023. The authorities face important near-term risks
including policy implementation challenges, both due to capacity
constraints and a more challenging socio-political climate, and
external risks from a renewed worsening in the terms of trade. Over
the longer horizon, there are significant upside risks to growth
due to the development of large new oil fields.

"In an effort to re-establish macroeconomic stability, the
government has passed a conservative 2023 budget, which
incorporates critical spending measures, including removing fuel
subsidies, phasing out electricity subsidies, containing the public
wage bill, while expanding social assistance spending and
growth-enhancing infrastructure investment.

"Recalibrating the fiscal policy is key to protect the recovery and
to support the most vulnerable. For 2023, the program targets
achieving a primary surplus of 1.7 percent of GDP, about half of
what was envisaged in the first review, allowing the authorities to
increase spending on social programs and critical infrastructure.
In 2024, the program targets a primary surplus of 3.5 percent of
GDP, which is the medium-term anchor consistent with debt
sustainability.

"Completing the ongoing debt restructuring negotiations with
Suriname's official and private creditors is a critical step in
restoring the country's debt sustainability. An agreement was
reached with Paris Club (PC) creditors for a two-step debt
treatment in June 2022, and bilateral agreements with most of the
PC creditors have been completed. An agreement-in-principle with
bondholders was reached on May 4, 2023. The authorities are
actively negotiating in good faith with China and India on a debt
restructuring agreement. On domestic debt, the government has
completed the audit of supplier arrears and committed to clearing
them, while strengthening public financial management to prevent
accumulation of future arrears. In addition, the government has
prepared a concrete action plan to complete ongoing domestic debt
restructuring in 2023. There has been a good progress in
negotiation on the restructuring of the legacy debt owed to the
Central Bank of Suriname (CBvS), balancing the government's
financial constraints and CBvS's financial health.

"The central bank has continued to implement the new reserve money
targeting framework. However, the large increase in government
spending and structural features of Suriname's financial system,
including uneven distribution of system's liquidity, has made
meeting the central bank's monetary targets challenging, and
interest rate transmission remains weak. To better absorb liquidity
and help improve monetary transmission, the CBvS has increased
reserve requirements on local currency deposits and provided
guidance to contain the credit growth in the near term. The
authorities remain committed to a free-floating, market-determined
exchange rate. The central bank is taking important steps to
improve its knowledge on the financial position and asset quality
of the commercial banks and address any shortcomings, strengthen
oversight, and develop modern crisis management capabilities.

"The authorities are making effort to strengthen central bank
governance and address shortcomings in the anti-corruption and
AML/CFT framework. The central bank is working to clear the backlog
of audits of financial statements and to normalize the auditing
cycle. A recapitalization plan for the central bank is being
finalized and will have a clear target of the level of capital and
a timeline for completion. The government intends to accelerate
implementation of governance reforms in AML/CFT, anti-corruption,
and public sector procurement.

"The authorities are working on critical structural measures
including submitting to the National Assembly an amended VAT act to
broaden the tax base, publicly announcing the planned reforms to
electricity tariffs, and finalizing the roadmap for financial
sector recapitalization and restructuring.

"The mission would like to thank the authorities for a
collaborative and fruitful dialogue. A wide-ranging set of meetings
was held with the President of the Republic of Suriname, the
Chairman of the National Assembly, the Minister of Finance and
Planning, the Central Bank Governor, the Minister of Justice, the
Minister of Social Affairs and Housing, the Minister of Home
Affairs, the Minister of Natural Resources, other senior officials,
representatives of the private sector, civil society organizations,
and development partners."




=============
U R U G U A Y
=============

HDI SEGUROS: Moody's Affirms Ba2 Insurance Fin. Strength Rating
---------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has affirmed the global local currency
insurance financial strength (IFS) ratings assigned to Banco de
Seguros del Estado (BSE) of Baa2, to MAPFRE Uruguay Seguros S.A.
(Mapfre Uruguay) of Baa2, to Zurich Santander Seguros Uruguay S.A.
(Zurich Santander Uruguay) of Baa3 and to HDI Seguros S.A. (HDI
Uruguay) of Ba2. At the same time, the baa3 baseline credit
assessment (BCA) assigned to BSE was also affirmed. The ratings
outlook of the four insurers was changed to positive from stable.

These actions follow Moody's affirmation of Uruguay government's
Baa2 issuer rating and change of outlook to positive from stable,
published on May 17, 2023.  

RATINGS RATIONALE

The decision to change the ratings outlook to positive from stable
for these Uruguayan insurers incorporates the benefit of the
improved economic perspective of the sovereign on the operations of
these four well-established insurers in Uruguay. The sovereign's
positive outlook reflects the continued favorable track record in
terms of institutional strength, governance, and successful fiscal
policy implementation, coupled with improved growth prospects for
Uruguay, which will in turn support a reduction of the government's
debt burden.

These insurers' key credit fundamentals - including asset quality,
capitalization and financial flexibility - are correlated to
Uruguay's operating environment,- and to the credit quality of the
Uruguayan sovereign securities, which comprise a significant part
of these companies' investment portfolios. The decision to affirm
the ratings and change the outlook to positive, from stable, is
also underpinned by the four insurers´ continued sound business
and financial performance.

RATINGS RATIONALE - Banco de Seguros del Estado

The change on BSE's outlook to positive from stable acknowledges
the significant linkages of the company's credit profile with that
of the sovereign, considering that BSE is fully owned by the
Government of Uruguay, most of its investment portfolio is
comprised of sovereign securities and the company benefits from a
very high probability of support from the government in case on
need. This assessment of the probability of support considers both
the ownership and the instrumental role of BSE on the highly
visible pension and workers' compensation insurance coverages.
Therefore, an upgrade of the sovereign could lead to a larger
benefit from support, as the ability of the sovereign to provide
financial assistance -measured through its own credit rating- would
be strengthened, and it could also lead to an improvement of BSE's
standalone profile, due to the positive implications for the
company's asset quality and financial flexibility. BSE's rating
currently benefits from one-notch uplift relative to its baa3
baseline credit assessment due to Moody's assessment of support
provided by the Government of Uruguay.

The affirmation of BSE's Baa2 IFS rating reflects the company's
continued dominant market position as the market leader in life and
P&C segments, with a market share of close to 70% of total premiums
in 2022, its solid brand recognition and good product
diversification. The company has also reported strong profitability
metrics in recent years, which has allowed it to maintain
sufficient capital buffers to absorb both the high growth in its
pension insurance segment and the strengthening of reserves in
recent years. BSE's main credit challenges arise from its exposure
to annuities in the pension segment, mainly related to longevity
and reinvestment risks, and asset-liability mismatches. However,
these risks have reduced in recent years, due to the introduction
of updated mortality tables that more accurately capture Uruguay's
demographic trends and due to the company's increased holdings of
securities denominated in wage-adjusted units, which provide a
hedge for pensions that are adjusted by the same unit.

RATINGS RATIONALE - Mapfre Uruguay, Zurich Santander Uruguay and
HDI Uruguay

The change on Mapfre Uruguay, Zurich Santander Uruguay and HDI
Uruguay's outlooks to positive, from stable, incorporates the
positive implications for the companies' asset quality, financial
flexibility and overall credit profile that will likely result from
an improvement of Uruguay's sovereign credit quality and the
favorable economic growth expectations in the country. Between 67%
and 93% of the companies' investment portfolios were concentrated
on Uruguayan sovereign securities as of 2022 year-end.

The affirmation of Mapfre Uruguay's Baa2 IFS rating reflects the
company's strong capital adequacy, its above-peers underwriting
performance and good business diversification, in both property and
casualty as well as life segments. Mapfre Uruguay's
creditworthiness is also supported by its well-established market
position as the second largest insurer in Uruguay in terms of
premiums. These positive credit considerations are partially offset
by the company's reinvestment risks associated to its individual
life and annuity products. The rating also continues to consider
Moody's assessment of implicit and explicit support provided by its
ultimate parent company - MAPFRE S.A. - through brand name sharing
and risk transfer arrangements achieved through intra-group
reinsurance, as well as the parent's constant oversight and its
significant strategic interest in Latin America, as demonstrated by
a solid presence in several countries in the region.

The affirmation of Zurich Santander Uruguay Baa3 IFS rating
acknowledges the company's robust capitalization (shareholders'
equity represented close to 67% of total assets as of December
2022), continued strong profitability levels (average return on
capita of 34% for the last five years) and low product-risk
profile, mainly comprised of short-term credit-related life
coverage and other granular short-term coverage products. The
company's rating also reflects implicit support provided by its
majority shareholder, Zurich Santander Insurance America S.L.,
which is 51% owned by Zurich Insurance Company Ltd (Aa3 positive)
and 49% by Banco Santander S.A. (Spain) (Banco Santander, A2
stable, baa1). This support is illustrated by the parent's
technical control and oversight over this subsidiary, brand-name
sharing, and the ultimate parents' strategic interest in Latin
America. These positive credit considerations are counterbalanced
by the company's small size in global terms, despite the
significant growth in recent years, and its exposure to regulatory
risk on the credit-related life insurance coverages.

The affirmation of HDI Uruguay Ba2 IFS rating is based on the
company's good product diversification, with a balanced book of
business that includes several property and casualty and life
insurance lines; its good capitalization reflected by the low gross
underwriting leverage, its adequate asset quality, mostly
comprising investment-grade securities and the implicit and
explicit support from Talanx Group (not rated), the company's
ultimate shareholder. These strengths are tempered by the company's
small market share, which has increased in the last years and
underwriting losses in the automobile segment, risk that are
mitigated by HDI Uruguay's good underwriting performance in other
lines of business.

FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS

Banco de Seguros del Estado

The following factors could lead to upward pressure on the ratings:
(i) an upgrade of Uruguay's sovereign bond rating, (ii) further
reductions in asset-liability mismatches in the company's pension
segment, (iii) a significant and sustained improvement in the
company's reserve adequacy, (iv) a sustained improvement in the
company's underwriting results, with the combined ratios for its
property and casualty (P&C) lines of business persistently below
100%.

Conversely, the following factors could lead to downward pressure
on the ratings: (i) a downgrade of Uruguay's sovereign bond rating,
(ii) a significant deterioration in the credit quality of BSE's
investments, (iii) persistent underwriting losses, with the
combined ratio for the company's P&C lines of business persistently
above 100%, and (iv) a decline in the company's capital adequacy
(with shareholders' equity-to-total assets below 4%).

Mapfre Uruguay

The following factors could lead to upward pressure on the ratings:
(i) an upgrade of the government of Uruguay's rating, (ii) a
sustained improvement in the company's underwriting performance,
with combined ratios for P&C segments well below 100% on a
sustained basis, (iii) a sustained improvement in its capital
metrics (for example, gross underwriting leverage sustainably below
4x), and (iv) a significant and sustained improvement in reserve
adequacy.

Conversely, the following factors could lead to downward pressure
on the ratings: (i) a downgrade of Uruguay's sovereign bond rating,
(ii) a deterioration in profitability, with combined ratios
consistently above 100%, (iii) a decline in its capital adequacy
(for example, Gross Underwriting Leverage (GUL) rising above 6x),
and (iv) a deterioration of the ability or willingness of the
parent Mapfre S.A. to provide support to the Uruguayan subsidiary.

Zurich Santander Uruguay

The following factors could lead to upward pressure on the ratings:
(i) an upgrade of the government of Uruguay's rating, (ii) a
significant and sustained improvement in Zurich Santander Uruguay's
market share and product diversification, coupled with continued
good profitability.

Conversely, the following factors could lead to downward pressure
on the ratings: (i) a downgrade of Uruguay's sovereign bond rating,
(ii) a decline in the support provided by Zurich Santander
Uruguay's shareholders or in the parent's strategic interest in the
subsidiary, (iii) a significant decline in its profitability (with
ROC below 6% on a sustained basis) and capital (that is, with the
capital-to-assets ratio remaining consistently under 30% or a
decrease in the company's regulatory solvency surplus above the
minimum required capital) and (iv) a significant decrease in the
company's size and market share.

HDI Uruguay

The following factors could lead to upward pressure on the ratings:
(i) an upgrade of the government of Uruguay's rating, (ii) an
improvement in the company's underwriting performance, with
combined ratios for P&C segments remaining below 100% on a
sustained basis, and (iii) a significant and sustained improvement
in the company's market share.

Conversely, the following factors could lead to downward pressure
on the ratings: (i) a downgrade of Uruguay's sovereign bond rating,
(ii) sustained underwriting losses in its P&C products, (iii) a
decline in its capital adequacy (for example, GUL above 5x), (iv) a
reduction in support from Talanx Group or in its strategic interest
in HDI Uruguay.

The principal methodologies used in rating Banco de Seguros del
Estado were Property and Casualty Insurers Methodology published in
January 2023.




===============
X X X X X X X X
===============

[*] BOND PRICING COLUMN: For the Week May 22 to May 26, 2023
------------------------------------------------------------
Issuer               Cpn    Price      Maturity   Country    Curr
------               ---    -----      --------   -------    ----
QNB Finance           3.4     75.4      10/21/2039   KY        AUD
QNB Finance          13.5     55.7      10/06/2025   KY        TRY
QNB Finance           2.9     75.3      12/04/2035   KY        AUD
Ruta del Maipo        2.3     53.5      12/15/2024   CL        CLP
Santander Consumer    2.9     73.1      11/27/2034   CL        AUD
Seagate HDD Cayman    3.4     73.4      07/15/2031   KY        USD
Seazen Group          4.5     63.6      07/13/2025   KY        USD
Silk Road Investments 2.9     68.8      01/23/2042   KY        AUD
Simpar Finance       10.8     73.8      02/12/2028   BR        BRL
Simpar Finance       10.8     73.8      02/12/2028   BR        BRL
Skylark               1.8     58.2      04/04/2039   KY        GBP
VTR Comunicaciones    5.1     55.3      01/15/2028   CL        USD
VTR Comunicaciones    5.1     53.6      01/15/2028   CL        USD
VTR Comunicaciones    4.4     54.4      04/15/2029   CL        USD
VTR Comunicaciones    4.4     54.5      04/15/2029   CL        USD
Banco del Estado      3.1     72.5      02/21/2040   CL        AUD
Banco del Estado de   1.7     70        03/01/2032   CL        EUR
Banco del Estado      2.8     68.9      03/13/2040   CL        AUD
Banco del Estado      1.7     69.2      07/05/2032   CL        EUR
Banco GNB Sudameris   7.5     73.3      04/16/2031   CO        USD
Banco GNB Sudameris   7.5     73.4      04/16/2031   CO        USD
Banco Santander Chile 1.3     57.6      11/29/2034   CL        EUR
Banco Santander Chile 3.1     72.3      02/28/2039   CL        AUD
Panama  Bond          4.5     73.5      01/19/2063   PA        USD
Panama  Bond          4.3     74.8      04/29/2053   PA        USD
Panama  Bond          3.9     66.8      07/23/2060   PA        USD
Pearl Holding III     9       30.5      10/22/2025   KY        USD
Pearl Holding III     9       30.5      10/22/2025   KY        USD
Peruvian  Bond        3.6     68.6      01/15/2072   PE        USD
Peruvian  Bond        2       69.5      11/17/2036   PE        EUR
Peruvian  Bond        2.8     61.1      12/01/2060   PE        USD
Peruvian  Bond        1.3     72.1      03/11/2033   PE        EUR
Peruvian  Bond        3.2     60.9      07/28/2121   PE        USD
Vista Energy          1       73        03/03/2028   AR        USD
Voyager II            3.3     74.3      03/23/2034   KY        AUD
YPF SA                1       69.8      01/10/2026   AR        USD
YPF SA                7       61.6      12/15/2047   AR        USD
YPF SA                7       61        12/15/2047   AR        USD
Fospar S/A            6.5      1.3      05/15/2026   BR        BRL
Frigorifico           7.7     71.1      07/21/2028   PY        USD
Frigorifico           7.7     71.4      07/21/2028   PY        USD
Galaxy Digital        3       62.5      12/15/2026   KY        USD
Generacion            9.9     73.1      12/01/2027   AR        USD
Generacion           12.5      0        02/16/2024   AR        USD
Gol Finance Inc       8.8     40.5                   KY        USD
Gol Finance Inc       8.8     42                     KY        USD
Goldman Sachs         2.3     75.9      06/30/2040   KY        EUR
Greenland Hong Kong  10.2     45.9                   KY        USD
Guacolda Energia SA   4.6     40.8      04/30/2025   CL        USD
Guacolda Energia SA   4.6     40.8      04/30/2025   CL        USD
Tencent Holdings      3.2     66.2      06/03/2050   KY        USD
Tencent Holdings      3.2     66.5      06/03/2050   KY        USD
Tencent Holdings      3.3     63        06/03/2060   KY        USD
Tencent Holdings      3.3     63.5      06/03/2060   KY        USD
Three Gorges Finance  3.2     74.2      10/16/2049   KY        USD
Transocean Inc        6.8     67.6      03/15/2038   KY        USD
Inversiones Latin     5.1     44.6      06/15/2033   CL        USD
Inversiones Latin     5.1     44.8      06/15/2033   CL        USD
KWG Group Holdings    7.4     15.8      01/13/2027   KY        USD
KWG Group Holdings    6       40.8      01/14/2024   KY        USD
KWG Group Holdings    5.9     22.2      11/10/2024   KY        USD
KWG Group Holdings    6.3     17.6      02/13/2026   KY        USD
KWG Group Holdings    7.4     26.5      03/05/2024   KY        USD
KWG Group Holdings    6       19.4      08/10/2025   KY        USD
KWG Group Holdings    6       16.8      08/14/2026   KY        USD
KWG Group Holdings    7.9     27.5      08/30/2024   KY        USD
KWG Group Holdings    7.9     60.2      09/01/2023   KY        USD
Telecom Argentina SA  1       56.5      02/10/2028   AR        USD
Telecom Argentina SA  1       64.2      03/09/2027   AR        USD
Tencent Holdings      3.8     74.1      04/22/2051   KY        USD
Tencent Holdings      3.8     74.1      04/22/2051   KY        USD
Tencent Holdings      3.9     72.3      04/22/2061   KY        USD
Tencent Holdings      3.9     72.3      04/22/2061   KY        USD
UEP Penonome II SA    6.5     73.6      10/01/2038   PA        USD
UEP Penonome II SA    6.5     74.1      10/01/2038   PA        USD
Guaranteed            5.4     73.7      01/29/2038   KY        USD
Guaranteed            5.3     71.9      03/23/2038   KY        USD
Helenbergh China      8       32.9      11/07/2024   KY        USD
             
Agile Group Holdings  6.1     41        10/13/2025   KY        USD
Agile Group Holdings  5.5     45        04/21/2025   KY        USD
Agile Group Holdings  5.5     39.2      05/17/2026   KY        USD
Alfa Desarrollo SpA   4.6     72.1      09/27/2051   CL        USD
Alfa Desarrollo SpA   4.6     72.1      09/27/2051   CL        USD
Alibaba Group         2.7     67.4      02/09/2041   KY        USD
Alibaba Group         3.2     65.2      02/09/2051   KY        USD
Agile Group Holdings  5.8     50.2      01/02/2025   KY        USD
QNB Finance          11.5     62.1      1/30/2025    KY        TRY
SYN prop e tech SA   13.6     20.3      3/15/2024    BR        BRL
Yango Cayman          12      3.9       09/15/2023   KY        USD
MSU Energy SA         6.9     70.8      02/01/2025   AR        USD
MSU Energy SA         6.9     71.2      02/01/2025   AR        USD
Itau Unibanco SA      5.8     19.4      05/20/2027   BR        BRL
Jamaica Government    8.5     68.9      12/21/2061   JM        JMD
Jamaica Government    6.3     72.7      07/11/2048   JM        JMD
Kaisa Group Holdings 10.9      9.1                   KY        USD
Lani Finance          3.1     68.6      10/19/2048   KY        AUD
Lani Finance          1.9     63.3      10/19/2048   KY        EUR
Lani Finance          1.7     60        03/14/2049   KY        EUR
Lani Finance          1.9     62.3      09/20/2048   KY        EUR
Colombia Bond         7.3     71.3      10/18/2034   CO        COP
Colombia Bond         7.3     71.3      10/18/2034   CO        COP
Colombia Bond         7.3     61.5      10/26/2050   CO        COP
Colombia Bond         7.3     61.5      10/26/2050   CO        COP
Colombia Bond         3.9     54.8      02/15/2061   CO        USD
Colombia Bond         4.1     61.9      02/22/2042   CO        USD
Colombia Bond         5.6     72.7      02/26/2044   CO        USD
Colombia Bond         3.1     74        04/15/2031   CO        USD
Colombia Bond         3.3     72.1      04/22/2032   CO        USD
Colombia Bond         5.2     67.3      05/15/2049   CO        USD
Colombia Bond         4.1     58.8      05/15/2051   CO        USD
Colombia Bond         5       66.9      06/15/2045   CO        USD
Colombia Bond         6.3     63        07/09/2036   CO        COP
Colombia Bond         6.3     63        07/09/2036   CO        COP
Banco Davivienda SA   6.7     66.5                   CO        USD
Banco de Chile        2.7     75.4      03/09/2035   CL        AUD
Banco de Chile        1.7     69.5      04/26/2032   CL        EUR
Chile  Bond           1.3     52        01/22/2051   CL        EUR
Chile  Bond           3.1     66.9      01/22/2061   CL        USD
Chile  Bond           1.3     65.4      01/29/2040   CL        EUR
Chile  Bond           1.3     71.2      07/26/2036   CL        EUR
Chile  Bond           3.3     66.6      09/21/2071   CL        USD
China Maple Leaf      2.3     75        01/27/2026   KY        USD
China SCE Group       6       29        02/04/2026   KY        USD
China SCE Group       7.4     56.2      04/09/2024   KY        USD
China SCE Group       7       35.2      05/02/2025   KY        USD
China SCE Group       6       42.9      09/29/2024   KY        USD
Earls Eight           0.1     63.8      12/20/2031   KY        AUD
Earls Eight           2.3     75.2      05/20/2032   KY        AUD
Earls Eight           1.7     71.4      06/20/2032   KY        AUD
Ecopetrol SA          4.6     75        11/02/2031   CO        USD
Ecopetrol SA          5.9     63.9      11/02/2051   CO        USD
Ecopetrol SA          5.9     65.5      05/28/2045   CO        USD
eHi Car Services      7       64.9      09/21/2026   KY        USD
El Salvador Bond      6.4     62.3      01/18/2027   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      6.4     62        01/18/2027   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      7.1     48.5      01/20/2050   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      7.1     48.6      01/20/2050   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      5.9     46        01/30/2025   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      7.6     49.4      02/01/2041   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      7.6     49.4      02/01/2041   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      8.6     58.1      02/28/2029   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      8.6     57.9      02/28/2029   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      8.3     56.4      04/10/2032   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      8.3     56.3      04/10/2032   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      7.7     50        06/15/2035   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      7.7     50        06/15/2035   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      9.5     54.6      07/15/2052   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      9.5     54.5      07/15/2052   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      7.6     49.9      09/21/2034   SV        USD
El Salvador Bond      7.6     50        09/21/2034   SV        USD
Banda de Couro        8       69.1      01/15/2027   BR        BRL
Alibaba Group         3.3     63        02/09/2061   KY        USD
AMTD IDEA Group       4.5     52.5                   KY        SGD
AAC Technologies      3.8     68.6      06/02/2031   KY        USD
ACEN Finance          4       70.9                   KY        USD
AES Tiete             6.8      0.7      04/15/2024   BR        BRL
Agile Group Holdings 13.5      40.7                  KY        USD
Agile Group Holdings  8.4      38.1                  KY        USD
Agile Group Holdings  7.9      31                    KY        USD
Argentina Bonar Bonds 1        19.8      7/09/2029   AR        USD
Argentina Bonar Bonds 1        27.5      08/05/2023  AR        USD
Argentina Treasury    2.5      25.3      11/30/2031  AR        ARS
Argentine  Bond       0.5      19.5      07/09/2029  AR        EUR
Argentine  Bond       1        23.7      07/09/2029  AR        USD
Argentine  Bond       0.1      21.5      07/09/2030  AR        EUR
Argentine Bonos      16        72.6      10/17/2023  AR        ARS
Argentine Bonos      15.5      22.2      10/17/2026  AR        ARS
Ascent Finance        3.4      58.4      02/06/2043  KY        AUD
Ascent Finance        3.8      59.8      06/28/2047  KY        AUD
Ascent Finance        1.2      61.4      07/12/2047  KY        EUR
Astra Cumulative      1.5      60.6      11/01/2029  KY        USD



                           *********


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 2023.  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.

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delivered via e-mail.  Additional e-mail subscriptions for members
of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription or
balance thereof are US$25 each.  For subscription information,
contact Peter A. Chapman at 215-945-7000.
.


                  * * * End of Transmission * * *