Madagascar Development

A power station of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority pictured in San Juan. The electricity provider faces a critical deadline on its credit lines on Thursday.   Reuters Puerto Rico's cash-strapped electric power authority is facing a critical deadline on Thursday to extend or make payments on lines of credit with banks or face a possible restructuring of about $9 billion in total debts. Extensions of the loans would help the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority overcome its short-term cash crunch and avoid more uncertainty about its future, which is roiling the market for Puerto Rico bonds. The authority   earlier this month reached deals   with   Citigroup   Inc.   C   +1.17%   unit Citibank and banks led by Scotiabank de Puerto Rico, a unit of   Bank of Nova Scotia , BNS.T   +0.69%   to delay some payments on $671 million it owed the banks between July and mid-August. The power authority didn't have the money to pay, according ...

In my estimation, and from talking to our clients, Reorg Research  is providing the very best, most informed news, analysis, and commentary on the hottest topic in distressed: Puerto Rico. As I've told many people recently, this is a situation that we will be talking about for many years to come. Last week, a few members of our team wrote a piece laying down some of the legal issues inherent in the some of the various litigations coming out of the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. For more information on Reorg Research or to inquire about a subscription, please shoot us an email questions [at] reorg-research [dot] com. Enjoy! Legal Fault Lines Over Puerto Rico Restructuring Law Come Into Focus The battle against Puerto Rico's independent restructuring efforts is becoming more clear as a third opponent, BlueMountain, joined Franklin Templeton and Oppenheimer in litigation challenging the recently enacted Public Corporation Debt Enforcement and Recovery Act...

Puerto Rico , on the brink of massive municipal bond defaults, has committed the trifecta of public relations sins: misdirection, finger-pointing, and political infighting. And a flailing communications strategy is no small problem for the struggling commonwealth, where a cohesive message is absolutely critical to gaining investor confidence. Puerto Rico’s ability to issue debt was built upon a Tinker Bell-like faith that commonwealth officials would pay its debt no matter what – that they would go so far as to allow the territory to descend into chaos by forgoing paying police, teachers and trash collectors – before they let state-side investors lose a dime. People had confidence that Puerto Rico would pay back its debt not because the territory had a growing economy that would fund spending, but because, well, officials (and the constitution ) said they would. And that makes what people believe about Puerto Rico – the message it sends to the public – all the more important. P...

80% of food consumed is imported 90% of that could be grown on the island Agriculture, an industry that was considered the only creator of jobs in Puerto Rico's economic development before the 1950s, is today forgotten due to vast economic and social changes. In fact, the island's agriculture has plummeted during the past 100 years from output that represented 71% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 1914 to a mere 1% in 2014—and jobs in agriculture dropped from a high of 263,577 in 1930 to 19,000 today. Those numbers point to a downward trend that is particularly disturbing, especially when we understand that a boost in local agriculture is essential to lowering a food import rate totaling 80% of what is consumed on the island. That staggering number represents expenditures of $3.5 billion to $4 billion annually at wholesale value, according to Puerto Rico Planning Board estimates. If local agriculture were developed to its full potential, we could replace 90% of those imports,...

SAN JUAN – Meet Puerto Rico (MPR), the organization in charge of bringing groups and conventions to Puerto Rico continues its aggressive growth and quest for excellence, with the announcement of the new MPR Customer Advisory Board (CAB). Comprised of 11 professionals representing a diverse mix of companies – from  associations , corporations and third party planners - the CAB will act as a sounding board and idea generating body to analyze and critique and then provide feedback regarding critical sales, marketing and operational issues impacting Puerto Rico. The objectives of the CAB are to improve the use of sales, marketing and operations in terms of planning and spending; explore new revenue opportunities and creative programs to reach customers; establish deeper and more meaningful relationships with key accounts and enhance customer loyalty. “The formation of this board allows us to learn and tap into their collective experiences and knowledge to provide us with the strategi...

Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla kept up a renewed focus on the island’s status issue as he called for unity within his commonwealth Popular Democratic Party to combat inroads toward statehood. “This is the time to beat statehood,” García Padilla said at a PDP assembly in San Juan on Sunday. The PDP president urged party members to set aside their divisions over the scope of commonwealth and rally in defense of “being Puerto Rican.” He took aim at statehood supporters, essentially labeling them as anti-Puerto Rican. “We have to destroy the defeatist forces that base their victories on the defeat of Puerto Ricaness, those who say victory rests on defeating Puerto Ricans and what is Puerto Rican,” the governor said. “The power of Puerto Ricans is within Puerto Ricans,” he added. The call came less than a week after García Padilla shifted gears on the island’s status front, pledging to hold another plebiscite before the end of the political term in 2016 and moving away from...

Join us for a webinar as we discuss the new Puerto Rico Public Corporation Debt Enforcement and Recovery Act, the potential restructuring of debt held by Puerto Rico’s public corporations, and a recently filed lawsuit challenging the Act.  We will highlight some of the ways in which the Act's restructuring tools and protections differ from those provided under the US Bankruptcy Code, and offer views on what may come next.   Speakers: Lawrence A. Larose ,  Partner, Chadbourne & Parke LLP Christy L. Rivera , Counsel, Chadbourne & Parke LLP Eric Daucher , Associate, Chadbourne & Parke LLP Puerto Rico's New Public Corporation Debt Enforcement and Recovery Act -- Restructuring Legislation for Commonwealth Instrumentalities Webinar - Chadbourne & Parke LLP - Events

Puerto Rico enacted the   Public Corporations Debt Enforcement and Recovery Act   on June 30. The legislation was pushed through without public discussion or debate and presented on the last day on which the legislature could consider such a bill. The stated aim of the bill is to create a clear legislative framework to assist financially stressed public corporations overcome their problems “through an orderly, statutory process” that allows them to handle their debts fairly and equitably, while ensuring the continuity of essential services to citizens and infrastructure upgrades. At a news conference, PR Treasury Secretary Melba Acosta-Febo and Government Development Bank Chairman   David H Chafey   emphasized that the legislation was not a bankruptcy law and would not apply to the majority of public agencies, nor the Commonwealth’s own debt. Puerto Rico corporations in a no-man’s-land “United States law provides a framework for the nation’s companies and municipal e...