Argentina to seize more Repsol assets than expected

The Argentine government is forcibly taking over more assets from Spanish oil company Repsol than had been expected, in a move that could deter foreign investment in the country.

Cristina Fernandez, Argentina’s president, announced on live television that the takeover of YPF would go ahead. She revealed that a bill had already been sent to Congress that would allow nationalisation of 51pc of the company, which is the country’s largest oil group.

Repsol had been expected to lose half its 57.5pc stake in YPF, but the country will now confiscate almost its entire shareholding.

The asset grab is likely to stoke significant fury in Madrid, but Ms Fernandez said that pressure from foreign governments would not change her mind and she was acting in the national interest. “I am a head of state and not a hoodlum,” Ms Fernández said in her television address.

Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, Spain’s foreign minister, said the Spanish government was considering measures against Argentina, which would be announced in the next few days.

“This has broken the cordial climate that existed between Spain and Argentina,” Mr Garcia-Margallo said. “Spain had worked with Argentina during its hardest hours.”

I don’t understand why Spain is surprised by this given the history of Argentina this should have been a given. I was looking a few months back at investing in that company as they offered a pretty good dividend (6 or 7%) but didn’t. Why? because its ARGENTINA! Who the hell would trust these idiots after they’ve robbed their own people blind, defaulted on international debt and started a war to try and cover it all over. Hopefully this will be a learning experience for Spain and anyone else that’s thinking about investing in countries like this but I doubt it. 10 years from now we’ll be reading the next installment of how Argentina screwed over some gullible rube that thought “this time will be different”.

The real problem in my view is that now the US is starting to look more and more like Argentina. MF Global along with JP Morgan steal $1.2 billion dollars and now “gee we just can’t seem to find it and oh by the way we’re going to pay the executives that did this bonuses and their legal fees before we even think of paying out those that lost money”. No perp walks, no claw backs, no fines not even a slap on the wrist. You think your money is safe invested in the US? HA! think again as you (the US investor) and Spain will have a lot in common here pretty soon.

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