Category: Argentina

in Buenos Aires, July 27-28 2005 for LatinFinance’s Cumbre Financiera Argentina. Apply for an invitation today for this high-level, invitation-only summit created to advance discussion and debate on the imminent recovery in the Argentine private sector and challenges to international investment.

Moody’s raised its credit rating for Argentina to B3 from Caa1. The ceiling for foreign-currency bank deposits rose to Caa1 from Caa2. Moody’s said it upgraded Argentina to take account of “debt relief following May’s bond exchange that concluded a protracted and confrontational debt restructuring process.”

Argentina’s construction industry grew 13.2% in May compared with same period last year, according to seasonally adjusted data from government statistics agency Indec. Construction activity grew 6.3% in April. The construction industry’s recovery has helped reduce unemployment following the 2001-2002 economic crisis. A 41.8% increase in construction permits this year indicates that construction should remain robust this year, helping sustain strong economic growth.

in Buenos Aires, July 27-28 2005 for LatinFinance’s Cumbre Financiera Argentina. Apply for an invitation today for this high-level, invitation-only summit created to advance discussion and debate on the imminent recovery in the Argentine private sector and challenges to international investment.

Argentina faces a new $20 million claim with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), this one with Asset Recovery Trust, a company based in Argentina but financed by US and German investors. Asset Recovery Trust accuses Banco of Mendoza of illegally canceling a contract in 2003 and expropriating funds. Argentina faces 35 other claims filed with the ICSID, all of them related to government action in 2002 as the country suffered an economic meltdown.

The Spanish-Argentine oil and gas company Repsol YPF will halt new investments in Bolivia until general elections, expected in December, are held. Bolivia’s new president, Eduardo Rodriguez, has been running a caretaker government since ex-president Carlos Mesa resigned earlier this month. Repsol officials say the company will reevaluate investment opportunities as the presidential campaign heats up

Argentina’s GDP expanded a robust 9.8 percent year-on-year in April, beating the central bank’s projection of 8.9 percent. The economy grew 9.0 percent in 2004. Government officials are hoping to secure a new loan agreement with the IMF but are hesitant to implement new economic reforms demanded by the Fund. IMF Managing Director Rodrigo Rato says Argentina must trim its budget and boost savings.

Argentina’s Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna said the country is ready to begin talks with the International Monetary Fund on a new loan accord, but won’t accept IMF demands that would threaten the country’s economic growth. The fund last year put on hold a $13.3 billion loan accord with Argentina while waiting for the country to restructure $104 billion in defaulted debt. In February, 76 percent of bondholders agreed to the country’s restructuring offer. The fund is now pressing the Kirchner government to negotiate with holdout investors, including billionaire Kenneth Dart who tried to holdup the restructuring in US courts.

Moody’s raised its debt rating on Spanish-Argentine oil company Repsol-YPF from Baa2 to Baa1, citing the company’s “solid” financial profile, its assets diversifying strategy and the improvement of its operations in Argentina. The company has recently invested in Trinidad & Tobago, Algeria, Libya and elsewhere in the Medium East.

Argentina raised the minimum state pension by 16 percent to $122 a month, at a cost of $250 million this year. The government will pay for the increase out of its primary budget surplus. President Nestor Kirchner is still trying to meet workers’ and pensioners’ wage demands four years after the country’s 2001-2002 crisis cut purchasing power more than 20 percent.