Standard & Poor’s reduced Petroperú’s rating to ‘B’ due to its financial and operational fragility. It also included the company on its “negative credit watch” list. “After more than two years since the crisis broke out, we believe there is very little visibility on how Petroperú will address its crises and the effectiveness of management in doing so,” S&P qualified. At the same time, the state company’s staff announced a 48-hour strike starting on May 30, which was finally suspended.
Petroperú has a debt that reaches US$8,532 million, while its total equity is only US$1,645 million. Fitch Ratingsan international agency that carries out studies of capital markets in Latin America and globally, also reduced the credit rating of the state company by 3 levels in just 4 months, going from B+ to CCC+, which indicates a high risk of default.
What do Petroperú workers say?
“The document with registration number 70744-2024, through which the National Coalition of Petroperú SA Unions (hereinafter, Trade Union Coalition); (…) informs the Labor Administrative Authority (hereinafter, AAT ) the declaration of a measure of force against Petroperú SA (hereinafter, Entity), consisting of a strike of forty-eight (48) hours to begin as of May 30, 2024 from 00:00 hours,” it reads in the statement from the Petroperú workers.
Communiqué from the National Coalition of Petroperú Unions. Photo: Channel N
Minister of Economy supports Petroperú
Prior to the ratings, President Dina Boluarte and Economy Minister José Arista expressed concern about the financial challenges facing the company. As an example of this concern, days before the state company’s rating was released, Arista sent a letter to the representative of Fitch Ratings in Latin America, reaffirming the Government’s commitment to continue providing economic support to Petroperu.
Strike by Petroperú workers is suspended
In dialogue with Canal N, the general secretary of the Union of Workers of Petroperu announced that the workers’ strike is suspended. “We still have pending meetings with the Premier,” he revealed. “The issue is mainly about the defense of Petroperú. We, more than workers, in the patriotic sense, have to defend the first company in the country,” he added.
Source: Larepublica
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