Bancolombia, Tele Norte Leste, Usiminas: Latin Equity Preview

By [bn:PRSN=1] William Freebairn [] and James Attwood

Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The following companies may have unusual price changes today in Latin America trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and share prices are from the previous close. Preferred shares are usually the most-traded class of stock in Brazil.

The MSCI Latin America Index fell 8.9 percent yesterday to 1,928.94.

Brazil

Lupatech SA (LUPA3 BS): Brazil's largest offshore oil- equipment provider agreed to buy closely held Fiberware Equipamento Servicos para a Industria Ltda. for 16.4 million reais ($7.2 million) to expand its tube and pipeline business. Fiberware makes fiberglass, high-density polyethylene and other composite coatings for the oil and gas industry, the company said in a statement yesterday. Lupatech fell 7.1 percent to 20.90 pesos.

Tele Norte Leste Participacoes SA (TNLP3 BS): Brazil's largest phone company said Chief Financial Officer Jose Luis Magalhaes Salazar resigned for ``personal reasons,'' and will be replaced on an interim basis by Chief Executive Officer Luiz Eduardo Falco. Separately, Tele Norte Leste wants to delay the payment of a 700 million-real ($301 million) fee for high-speed Internet-capable cellular phone licenses, Dow Jones reported yesterday. Tele Norte Leste fell 9 percent to 27.30 reais.

Usinas Siderugicas de Minas Gerais SA (USIM5 BS): Brazil's second-largest steelmaker will go ahead with $14 billion in capacity expansion projects. Demand for flat-steel in Brazil may increase 2 percent to 3 percent in 2009, the company said yesterday. Usiminas, as the company is known, fell 9.3 percent to 22 reais.

Colombia

Bancolombia SA (BCOLO CB): The country's biggest lender said profit rose 16 percent to 70.1 billion pesos ($30.2 million) in October compared with 60.3 billion pesos in September. Net income in the first 10 months of the year rose 37 percent to 895 billion pesos from the same period last year on higher net interest income. Bancolombia fell 1.4 percent to 11,340 pesos.

Mexico

Corporativo GBM SAB (GBMO MM): The Mexican brokerage said it will charge customers selling shares of its GBM Fondo de Crecimiento fund a 5 percent fee because recent market volatility ``has prevented the appropriate setting of some prices.'' Sales of the GBM Capital Bursatil fund will incur a 10 percent fee, with the fees retained in the fund to compensate remaining shareholders. GBM rose 10 percent to 3.75 pesos when it last traded Nov. 10.

To contact the reporters on this story: William Freebairn in Mexico City at wfreebairn@bloomberg.net; James Attwood in Santiago at jattwood3@bloomberg.net.