Category: Argentina

Early indications are that President Nestor Kirchner of Argentina has won the key congressional seat of the province of Buenos Aires with his wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner taking a Senate seat with over 40% of the votes against her rival, Hilda “Chiche” Gonzalez, wife of ex president Eduardo Duhalde, who polled 22%. Sunday’s Congressional elections are seen as the first real test of approval by the country of Kirchner’s presidency since he won office in April 2003 with only 22% of the votes in the first round of elections. Voters are electing representatives for half of the Argentine lower Chamber of Deputies and a third of the Senate.

Industrial production in Argentina rose 8.6% in September according to the government’s Indec statistics bureau. On a seasonally adjusted basis, industrial production rose 1.2% month on month in September, after increasing 2% in August. Industrial products are this year’s fastest growing export category. Economists at CSFB say industry’s strong performance should help deliver 7.8% economic growth this year.

Uruguayan President Tabaré Vázquez says that construction of planned paper plants in Fray Bentos close to the border with Argentina will go ahead as planned. Protestors in Argentina had tried to block the projects citing potential environmental damage. Construction is scheduled for to begin next February. The plants, to be built by Botnia of Finland and Spain’s Empresa Nacional de Celulosa de España, will cost about $2 billion.

Argentina’s Oil and Gas Workers’ Union has suspended strike action to start talks with the government regarding pay. Companies affected by the stoppage included Repsol YPF and Petrobras.

Several thousands oil workers at various sites in Argentina are continuing a strike which began on Sunday in demand of higher pay. Companies affected include Repsol YPF and Petrobras. Argentina is Latin America’s third-largest oil-producing nation.

Bank of American Corp has confirmed that it is in talks with parties in Argentina regarding the possible sale of BankBoston. It said it is in discussions with South African Standard Bank and the local families Werthein and Sielecki. On Thursday, Bank of America announced it had agreed the sale of its asset management business in Mexico to the subsidiary of Spanish Grupo Santander, Grupo Financiero Santander Serfin.

UK insurer Royal Sun Alliance has bought Chilean firm Compañía de Seguros Generales Cruz del Sur and its sister company in Argentina for $119 millon in cash. The new entity will have a 22% share of the Chilean market. RSA says its purchase in Chile is the start of an expansion into Latin America. The company says it is looking at possible investments in Mexico and Brazil.

Argentina’s pension funds recorded an average annual rate of return of 21.25%, in the 12 months to September, well above the rate of 7.95% last year. Most of the country’s 12 pension funds are controlled by foreign-owned banks. However, the highest return (38.49%) was recorded by Nación AFJP, controlled by state-owned Banco de la Nación. The pension funds market controls assets of around $22 billion.

Argentina’s pension funds recorded an average annual rate of return of 21.25%, in the 12 months to September, well above the rate of 7.95% last year. Most of the country’s 12 pension funds are controlled by foreign-owned banks. However, the highest return (38.49%) was recorded by Nación AFJP, controlled by state-owned Banco de la Nación. The pension funds market controls assets of around $22 billion.

The volume of Argentine ADRs traded in September was 36% up on the previous month, bringing the volume for the year to $9.2 billion, up 122% when compared with the same period last year. Pipeline services company Tenaris was the star performer, with volumes increasing by 20% in September, 165% up year-on-year. Volumes of Latin American ADRs as a whole have risen by 24% when compared with 2004.