Brazilian telecoms company Oi SA said on Monday its mobile unit has signed an agreement to issue up to 2.5 billion reais ($609.40 million) in debenture bonds with a 24-month term to meet its cash needs, Reuters reported. The move comes as Brazil’s largest fixed-line carrier struggles to turn around its business since filing for bankruptcy protection in June 2016 and to restructure approximately 65 billion reais ($15.7 billion) of debt.
Brazilian construction and engineering group Odebrecht is changing its leadership amid ongoing debt restructuring and difficulties to obtain new contracts, BNamericas reported. Chairman and ally of founder Emilio Odebrecht, Ruy Sampaio, will replace current CEO Luciano Nitrini Guidolin as the expected conclusion of the conglomerates' debt restructuring will also end a cycle in the company, an Odebrecht spokesperson told BNamericas.
Foreigners have withdrawn from Brazilian equities at a record pace this year, amid persistent scepticism from global investors about the country’s economic recovery, the Financial Times reported. In total, foreign investors have pulled a net R$15.2bn (US$3.7bn) out of the country’s stock markets this year, data from the São Paulo stock exchange show. The São Paulo stock exchange has surged higher, with the benchmark Bovespa up more than 25 per cent this year. But the persistent withdrawals from foreign accounts show how heavily this rally depends on local investors.
A Brazilian bankruptcy judge has pushed back the sale of two soy crushing plants after U.S-based grain trader Bunge Ltd alleged the seller provided insufficient information about the assets, according to court filings seen by Reuters on Friday. The auction of the two plants by privately owned Imcopa group, rescheduled to Feb. 17 from Dec. 4, is part of the seller’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy. Imcopa and a court-appointed judicial administrator agreed to cancel this week’s auction of the two strategic plants in Paraná state, court documents showed.
Creditors for Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht SA decided on Wednesday to postpone a vote on the company’s bankruptcy restructuring proposal to Dec. 10, until after it submits a revised restructuring plan, Reuters reported. Reuters reported earlier this week that Odebrecht and its larger creditors, local lenders, are close to reaching an agreement on a revised plan. Odebrecht lawyer Eduardo Munhoz said he expects to deliver the revised plan before Dec. 10.
Brazil’s largest airline, Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes, on Thursday reported a 242 million reais ($60.69 million) third-quarter loss, hit by problems affecting its Boeing 737 planes, Reuters reported. Gol flies Boeing 737 planes exclusively, a strategy which can help to reduce costs. But this year it has exposed the company to Boeing’s woes, including the worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX, following two deadly crashes. The carrier says it expects its seven MAX planes will receive regulatory approval to resume flights in December, based on the guidance it has received from Boeing.
Brazil’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate for a third straight meeting following on the passing of a key reform that spurred hopes of a recovery in the country’s sluggish economy amid low inflation, the Financial Times reported. The Selic rate hit a new low of 5 per cent on Wednesday after the monetary policy committee, known as “Copom”, approved a cut of 50 basis points following their first cut in over a year in July, on the day the US Federal Reserve also eased its monetary policy.
Brazilian carriers Telefonica Brasil and TIM Participações will consider acquiring assets from struggling rival Oi SA if they are put up for sale, executives from both companies said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. In September, Reuters reported that Oi was in talks with the local subsidiaries of Spain’s Telefonica SA and Telecom Italia SpA to sell assets and avoid insolvency.
Brazil’s top banking executives were unanimous in cheering the approval of a long-delayed pension overhaul -- and quick to line up what they think should be the government’s next priority, Bloomberg News reported. With the top item on their wish list now crossed off after years of debates, bankers from Itau Unibanco Holding SA to Banco BTG Pactual SA are now championing reforms to the rules governing civil servants’ costly benefits, including changes to compensation, productivity metrics and dismissal policies.