Brazil's Light requests extension on debt payments

SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Rio de Janeiro's main power distributor, Light Servicos de Electricidade said recently it was requesting an extension on debt payments with creditors due to an ongoing liquidity crisis.=

Brazil's Light requests extension on debt payments The company, which is owned by French state utility Electricite de France, said in a statement that it had been unable to pay its debts by a July 1 deadline, but that it was still negotiating with creditors.

Light is the latest debt casualty in Brazil's power sector, which was plunged into crisis last year when companies' large dollar-denominated debts were magnified by a currency slump and power rationing brought several firms to the brink of ruin.

Light also said it was dispensing with the services of Citigroup Global Markets, which it had hired in April to help it sort out its debt problems.

The company, which posted a loss in the first quarter, ended March with a total net debt of 4.82 billion reais ($1.7 billion).

Reuters