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Financing Receivables
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2012
FINANCING RECEIVABLES

7. LONG-TERM FINANCING RECEIVABLES

Long-term financing receivables represent receivables from certain Latin American governmental bodies, primarily in Argentina, that have contractual maturities of greater than one year. In Argentina, as a result of energy market reforms which began in 2004, and consistent with contractual arrangements, the Company converted certain accounts receivable into long-term financing receivables. These receivables accrue interest and are collected in monthly installments over 10 years once the related plant begins operations. In addition, the Company also receives an ownership interest in these newly-built plants once the receivables have been fully repaid. Collection of the Argentina financing receivables is subject to various business risks and uncertainties including timely payment of principal and interest, completion and operation of power plants which provide for payments of the long-term receivables, regulatory changes that could impact the timing and amount of collections and economic conditions in Argentina. The Company periodically analyzes each of these factors and assesses collectability of the related accounts receivable. The Company's collection estimates are based on assumptions that it believes to be reasonable but are also inherently uncertain. Actual future cash flows could differ from these estimates. The decrease in the long-term financing receivables from December 31, 2011 is primarily related to the impact of foreign currency translation. The receivables are included in “Noncurrent assets – other” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The following table sets forth the breakdown of financing receivables by country as of December 31, 2012 and 2011:

      
   2012 2011
        
   (in millions)
 Argentina(1) $ 196 $ 232
 Dominican Republic   35   49
 Brazil   8   14
 Total long-term financing receivables $ 239 $ 295

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  • Excludes noncurrent receivables of $120 million and $82 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, which have not been converted into long-term financing receivables and currently have no due date.