The government finally shut down its defunct RFFSA rail network after five years’ effort, opening the way for privatized operators to increase investments to eliminate critical transportation bottlenecks. The government began privatizing RFFSA piecemeal in 1996, but failed to insulate private operators from $1.1 billion in contingent legal liabilities. The government has now transferred the agency’s liabilities to a federal fund, removing further legal risk. Operators invested $700 million last year, despite these uncertainties.
Category: Daily Brief
Posted inDaily Brief
Meirelles Faces Charges
Brazil’s prosecutor-general asked the Supreme Court to investigate allegations that central bank president Henrique Meirelles has evaded taxes and performed illegal international money transfers. In August, President Lula da Silva issued a decree granting central bank presidents the status of cabinet minister, which means they may be tried only by the Supreme Court.
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Flashback
Five Years Ago“The Search for the Perfect Gift Horse”It was only five years ago that the private equity market was booming as never before -or since. LatinFinance reported on the […]
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Flashback
The first issue of LatinFinance appeared in October 1988 and we are using our 15th anniversary as an excuse to revisit some of the more significant events in the markets over the last 15 years. For better or for worse, the markets and economies of Latin America have been through a lot over the years. This is how LatinFinance reported the news and events at the time.
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Sovereign Report
Uruguay Gets a Reprieve In May, Uruguay announced that 90% of bondholders had participated in its $5.3 billion bond swap, agreeing to exchange existing bonds for new ones with extended maturities. Citigroup acted as […]
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Sovereign Report
Mexican Bradys, Endangered Species Mexican Bradys are on their way out, after the finance ministry decided to call $3.8 billion-worth of outstanding dollar-denominated A and B series Brady bonds. Once the […]
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People
Enter QuirogaOn August 7, an unpretentious 41-year-old engineer wearing Bolivia’s red, yellow and green presidential sash, stood in the Casa de la Libertad in Bolivia’s capital city and took over […]
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The Shock of the New
The Internet is threatening to sweep away established market structures. It promises to change forever the way companies raise capital, the way investment banks work and how capital markets operate.