Bolivia Nationalizes Grid

Bolivia’s government has issued a decree nationalizing its electricity grid, it says. The government’s Empresa Nacional de Electricidad (ENDE) is to absorb 99% of the shares of Empresa Transportadora de Electricidad, which are owned by Spain’s Red Electrica. An independent auditor will set compensation to be paid to the Spanish company within 180 days. The move follows Argentina’s plan to nationalize YPF, controlled by Spain’s Repsol. It also comes as Bolivia was preparing to issue a $500m international bond to reintegrate itself into the international financial community.