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Puerto Rico Utility Bondholders Seek Bigger Bankruptcy Payouts  Yahoo Canada Finance

Fitch Ratings downgrades Puerto Rico's debt  Yahoo Lifestyle Australia

Case study: How a government struggling with debt navigated towards a brighter future  EY

Puerto Rico Swimming Federation Banned from CCAN Competition Until $57K Debt Repaid  SwimSwam

No easy way for Puerto Rico to overhaul government debt  Yahoo Canada Shine On

Biden Nominee Asked About Discrepancies in Testimony  The American Prospect

The Case for Puerto Rican Independence Current Affairs  Current Affairs

Bond Insurer Stocks Hit in Puerto Rico Proceedings  The Wall Street Journal

Puerto Rico utility's annual budget deficits persist after six years of federal oversight  IEEFA

Puerto Rico sells $3.5B in bonds, sees high demand  Yahoo News UK

Chile Telecom Operator WOM Files for Bankruptcy in the U.S. global.abi.org Mon, 04/01/2024 - 12:14 WOM, once a rising Chilean startup that vowed to challenge the country’s dominant telecom operators, filed for bankruptcy after falling short on a plan to refinance $348 million in debt due in November, Bloomberg News reported. The company filed for chapter 11 protection in Delaware, according to court documents filed today. The filing, which lists between $1 billion and $10 billion in liabilities and same in assets, allows WOM to keep operating while it works on a plan to repay creditors. The mobile network operator bet on cheap plans and a bold marketing campaign to defy Chile’s incumbents, weathering intense competition across Latin America along the way. But it drained cash fast while expanding its user base. Its 2024 bonds had slid to below 30 cents on the dollar amid liquidity concerns and as the company and its bondholders hired advisers ahead of possible talks. WOM, which stands for “Word of Mouth,” was created after Novator Partners LLP acquired the assets of Nextel Chile in 2015 and re-branded the unit. Novator was founded by Icelandic businessman Thor Bjorgolfsson. The company has 21% of the market share for mobile lines in Chile, lagging only Telefonica SA’s Movistar and Entel SA, according to data through September collected by the local regulator. Carlos Slim’s Claro has the fourth biggest share. Read more. Location Chile United States

Thames Water Owners to Start Urgent Restructuring Talks global.abi.org Mon, 04/01/2024 - 12:14 The owners of Thames Water will reportedly start urgent restructuring talks in the coming days as the embattled firm’s parent company Kemble risks entering insolvency within weeks unless lenders agree to a debt-for-equity deal, City A.M. reported. Restructuring experts Alvarez & Marsal will discuss all options with creditors, including bank lenders and bondholders, the Financial Times reported. The news comes as the government tries to avoid a temporary renationalisation of Thames Water after shareholders refused to stump up £500m of emergency funding last week due to the company being “uninvestable”. The nine shareholders, which include the Canadian pension fund Omers and a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, said they had lost patience with regulator Ofwat after its initial assessments on the company’s 2025-2030 business plan. Thames Water has asked Ofwat for permission to hike bills by 56 per cent in real terms by 2030, pay lower fines on issues like sewage dumping and award dividends. The shareholders’ decision has triggered a political headache for Rishi Sunak’s government as it faces the costly prospect of having to temporarily nationalise the company to prevent it from collapsing. The sprawling group that includes Thames Water and Kemble is struggling under a debt pile worth at least £18.3bn, which has become increasingly difficult to service amid higher interest rates. Read more. Location United Kingdom

Thailand's Central Group Wants to Acquire Signa Retail Assets global.abi.org Mon, 04/01/2024 - 12:13 Thai retailer Central Group wants to take over some real estate assets from insolvent Austrian property company Signa, including KaDeWe in Germany and Selfridges in London, Reuters reported. Central Group is interested in Signa's entire luxury group, which also includes Alsterhaus in Hamburg, Oberpollinger in Munich, and Globus in Switzerland, according to a Business Insider report. The report said Central is already substantially invested in Signa's luxury holdings. Signa, the property empire founded by tycoon Rene Benko, has been one of the biggest casualties of Europe's real estate crisis, with creditors filing claims worth billions of euros. The group's holding company, which sits at the centre of a web of hundreds of firms, has declared insolvency, as have its two main units, Signa Prime and Signa Development. Read more. Location Thailand Austria

IMF Confirms Increasing Egypt's Bailout Loan to $8 Billion global.abi.org Mon, 04/01/2024 - 12:12 The executive board of the International Monetary Fund confirmed a deal with Egypt to increase its bailout loan from $3 billion to $8 billion, in a move that is meant to shore up the Arab country’s economy which is hit by a staggering shortage of foreign currency and soaring inflation, the Associated Press reported. In a statement late Friday, the board said its decision would enable Egypt to immediately receive about $820 million as part of the deal which was announced earlier this month. The deal was achieved after Egypt agreed with the IMF on a reform plan that is centered on floating the local currency, reducing public investment and allowing the private sector to become the engine of growth, the statement said. Egypt has already floated the pound and sharply increased the main interest rate. Commercial banks are now trading the U.S. currency at more than 47 pounds, up from about 31 pounds. The measures are meant to combat ballooning inflation and attract foreign investment. The Egyptian economy has been hit hard by years of government austerity, the coronavirus pandemic, the fallout from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and most recently, the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The Houthi attacks on shipping routes in the Red Sea have slashed Suez Canal revenues, which is a major source for foreign currency. The attacks forced traffic away from the canal and around the tip of Africa. Read more. Location Egypt

Japan's Finance Minister Says 'Speculative' Moves in Currency Market Impacting Yen global.abi.org Mon, 04/01/2024 - 12:12 Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Monday there were some speculative moves in the currency market that did not reflect economic fundamentals, repeating his warning against excessive yen declines, Reuters reported. "We will watch currency market developments with a strong sense of urgency, and will respond appropriately against excessive moves without ruling out any options," Suzuki told parliament. Suzuki said various factors are driving currency moves such as the Bank of Japan's decision to end negative interest rates, Japan's current account balance, price moves, geopolitical risks, as well as market players' sentiment and speculative trades. "As for the yen's recent declines, we believe there are some speculative moves that do not reflect fundamentals when taking into account domestic and overseas economic as well as price developments," he said. The yen has been on a downtrend despite the BOJ's decision on March 19 to end eight years of negative interest rates, and hit a 34-year low against the dollar at 151.975 last week. It was fetching 151.315 per dollar early on Monday. Read more. Location Japan