Tag: Argentina

Argentina posts first fiscal surplus since 2008 under President Javier Milei

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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President Javier Milei announced Argentina’s first quarterly fiscal surplus since 2008 during a televised speech, promising his commitment to eliminating deficits wouldn’t waver throughout his term.

“The fiscal surplus is the cornerstone from which we are building a new era of prosperity in Argentina,” Milei said Monday night, flanked by his economic team at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires. “We are making possible the impossible even with the majority of politics, unions, the media and most economic actors against us.”

The crisis-prone South American nation posted a quarterly fiscal surplus of 0.2% of gross domestic product to start the year, as well as a third consecutive monthly surplus in March, Milei said.

“The libertarian economist pledged to stick with austerity because “inflation is robbery and fiscal deficit is the cause of inflation.”

Argentina bonds jumped as investors awaited Milei’s announcement, leading gains in emerging markets on Monday.

“Argentina continues to be a good trade,” Diego Ferro, founder of M2M Capital in New York, said by phone after the president’s speech. But he cautioned that the surplus is still an intermediary step.

“What they accomplished was impressive, but based on very short term measures,” Ferro said. “Unless it changes into structural changes, it will likely become another ‘I told you so story’ ending in tears.”

Argentina achieved its rare surplus by slashing three quarters of transfers to provincial governments and halting nearly 90% of public works, Milei said. The government also kept costs low by allowing nearly 300% annual inflation to erode real public spending on wages and pensions.

“Milei’s streak of fiscal surpluses is certainly good news — but the big question is how sustainable it is,” Adriana Dupita, deputy chief emerging markets economist with Bloomberg Economics, said by email. “Much of the positive performance has come at the expense of high inflation eroding the purchasing power of public sector salaries and pensions, and virtually halting public investment and transfers to provinces. This strategy cannot last long.”

Since taking office, Milei has devalued the currency by more than 50%, halved the number of government ministries, removed hundreds of price controls and started to cut generous energy and transport subsidies. Monthly inflation has been slowing consistently from a three-decade high of 26% in December.

Milei promised Argentines during televised address their sacrifice would pay off in the form of fewer taxes in the future.

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Argentina asks to join NATO as President Milei seeks a more prominent role for his nation

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Argentina formally requested on Thursday to join NATO as a global partner, a status that would clear the way for greater political and security cooperation at a time when the right-wing government of President Javier Milei aims to boost ties with Western powers and attract investment.

The request came as NATO’s Deputy General Secretary Mircea Geoana held talks in Brussels on regional security challenges with visiting Argentine Defense Minister Luis Petri.

Geoana said he welcomed Argentina’s bid to become an accredited partner in the alliance — a valued role short of “ally” for nations that are not in NATO’s geographical area and not required to take part in collective military actions. NATO membership is currently limited to countries of Europe, Turkey, Canada and the United States.

The designation could allow Argentina access to advanced technology, security systems and training not previously available to it, the Argentine presidency said.

“Argentina plays an important role in Latin America,” Geoana said at the NATO headquarters. ”Closer political and practical cooperation could benefit us both.”

Milei has been pushing a radical libertarian agenda aimed at reversing years of protectionist trade measures, overspending and crippling international debt that have plunged the country’s economy into a tailspin.

Over his past four months as president, he has reshaped Argentina’s foreign policy to one of almost unconditional support for the United States — part of an effort to return Argentina to prominence in the global economy after past administrations allowed relations with Washington and European allies to wither.

Milei’s government is also seeking security benefits through warming ties with Western countries. On Thursday, the U.S. government announced it was providing Argentina with $40 million in foreign military financing for the first time in more than two decades — a grant that allows key U.S. allies like Israel to buy American weaponry.

The funds, intended to help Argentina equip and modernize its military, will help foot the bill for 24 American F-16 fighter aircraft Argentina bought from Denmark earlier this week. Defense Minister Petri hailed the acquisition of the advanced warplanes as “the most important military purchase since Argentina’s return to democracy” in 1983. The $300 million price tag has drawn criticism from Milei’s political opponents as he slashes spending across the government.

Formally partnering with NATO requires the consensus of all 32 NATO members. Argentina’s ties to key NATO ally Britain have been fraught since 1982, when the two went to war over the contested Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.

Other global partners of the Alliance include Afghanistan, Australia, Iraq, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand and Pakistan. Currently the only NATO partner in Latin America is Colombia.

Conferring the status of “global partner” on a country does not mean NATO allies would come to the country’s defense in the event of an attack. That commitment — laid out in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s founding treaty — is limited to full members of the alliance.

NATO’s dialogue with Argentina began in the early 1990s. In a largely symbolic move to thank the pro-American government at the time for sending troops on peacekeeping operations to Bosnia, former President Bill Clinton designated Argentina “major non-NATO ally” in 1998.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Argentina inflation near 300% wipes out tourists’ deep discounts

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Argentina’s surging inflation threatens to crimp a key source of tourism revenue as foreigners who piled $3.2 billion last year into the country that’s short on dollars opt for other destinations.

Scenes of South Americans pouring in from air, land and sea to take advantage of Argentina’s cheap cost of living in recent years have partly reversed since President Javier Milei took office in December. Now Argentines are lining up to cross the border into Chile as consumer spending plunges at home, while annual inflation accelerated to 288% in March, up from 104% a year ago.

Travel reservations in Uruguay to Argentina started to drop in January and are now 50% lower than a year ago, said Gonzalo Rodriguez who runs travel agency Carrasco Viajes in Montevideo. Rodriguez sees the drop influenced by Milei’s 54% currency devaluation and narrowing of the difference between the official and parallel exchange rates, a factor that made Argentina very affordable for foreigners but isolated the economy and previous government.

“It becomes a less attractive destination with the gap between the official and parallel exchange rates almost gone and the noticeable rise in prices,” he said. “Argentina is starting to have prices like Brazil, Chile and other alternative destinations in the region.”

In recent years, Argentina had become popular among digital nomads, Russians escaping war and ordinary tourists from neighboring countries doing grocery shopping, forcing some supermarkets to set purchasing limits after shelves were emptied. For example, visitors from Uruguay, a country of 3.4 million people, spent about $1.2 billion in Argentina last year.

But since Milei ditched price controls and devalued the currency, many goods in Argentina, when measured in U.S. dollars, have recorded such steep price hikes that it’s no longer a bargain for foreigners.

A basket of 60 basic goods cost 33% less in the Argentine border city of Concordia than in the neighboring Uruguayan metro area of Salto, down from 64% last September, according to a survey by Uruguay’s Catholic University.

Less spending by foreign visitors could widen a tourism services deficit that topped $1.2 billion last year due to wealthy Argentines’ penchant for international travel offsetting all the incoming tourism. Every dollar counts as the Milei administration rebuilds the central bank’s depleted hard currency reserves to stabilize the economy and speed the flow of badly needed imports.

Tour sales to Argentina, especially shorter trips to Buenos Aires, have fallen as much as 20% from a year ago at Montevideo-based Cisplatina Turismo, Chief Executive Officer Laura Leiza said.

“It’s still cheaper to have dinner in Buenos Aires than in Montevideo,” Leiza said. “But if Argentina starts to get expensive, it will compete with the weather and beaches of Brazil.”

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Argentina is running out of bug spray amid record dengue surge

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Bug spray is out of stock across Argentina as the country confronts its worst-ever outbreak of dengue, a mosquito-borne illness that’s surged across Latin America amid high heat and heavy rains.

Argentina reported 2,33,000 cases of dengue so far during the Southern Hemisphere’s summer — about eight times the number of case reported during the same week last year — and 161 deaths, according to its Health Ministry. Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina are the hardest hit, with more than 3.5 million cases, 83% of which are concentrated in Brazil, according to the Pan American Health Organization.

“This is reason for concern, as it represents three times more cases than reported on the same date in 2023, a record year with more than 4.5 million cases reported in the region,” PAHO Director Jarbas Barbosa told reporters March 28.

Barbados, Costa Rica, Gaudeloupe, Guatemala, Martinique and Mexico have all seen surges, Barbosa said. Dengue is also known as the break-bone fever because of the high temperatures and severe aches it causes. While most infections get better after about 10 days, some cases require hospitalization. Those who are infected a second time have a greater risk of ending up in the hospital.

After Jorge Munua lined the shelves of his family’s 11 supermarkets in the greater Buenos Aires area with about 7,000 cans of bug spray, they were sold within hours — despite a one-can-per-customer limit. Even vanilla extract, the main ingredient of the do-it-yourself alternative, flew off the shelves, he said.

“People are making their own home remedies because the truth is there is no repellent anywhere. I’ve called wholesalers, other supermarkets. As soon as stock arrives, there’s so much psychosis, it just flies off the shelves,” said Munua, commercial officer for supermarket chain El Abastecedor. “It’s just like what happened with hand sanitizer during the pandemic.”

Fed up with customers’ desperate pleas, shops across Buenos Aires have taken to posting signs outside their stores saying they don’t have any bug spray. On the online marketplace MercadoLibre, mosquito repellent is going for $20 a can, a more than 500% jump from its retail value, a shock even for inflation-battered Argentines grappling with consumer price increases that are now running at an annual pace of 276%.

On Monday, President Javier Milei’s government lifted restrictions on imports of mosquito repellent for 30 days, including looser inspection requirements by local health authorities. In his first TV interview last week, Health Minister Mario Russo said the benefits of the waiver would take effect “probably within the next two weeks.”

SC Johnson, whose mosquito repellent dominates 80% of the local market, saw a 300% jump in demand compared with the same period last year, which they described as “unprecedented” in a press release last week. They now plan to import more than 120,000 canisters of bug spray from Poland. On Tuesday, the company flew in 20,000 cans from Mexico to donate across the northern provinces, which are experiencing the most severe outbreaks coupled with some of the highest poverty rates.

In the meantime Russo, the health minister, recommended people wear light-colored clothing, stick to long sleeves and “be careful with shorts.”

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

India signs agreement for exploration & mining of 5 Lithium blocks in Argentina

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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In a move aimed at strengthening mineral supply chains, the government-owned Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) has signed an agreement with the state-owned enterprise of Catamarca province in Argentina, CAMYEN SE (Catamarca Minera Y Energética Sociedad Del Estado).

The signing took place today in Catamarca, Argentina, in the presence of Catamarca’s Governor Lic. Raul Jalil, Vice Governor Eng. Ruben Dusso, Catamarca’s Minister of Mines Marcelo Murua, and the Indian High Commissioner to Argentina Dinesh Bhatia.

The agreement was also virtually witnessed by India’s Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal, and Mines Pralhad Joshi, and Mines Secretary VL Kantha Rao.

This agreement marks the first-ever instance of a Lithium exploration and mining project by an Indian government-owned company.

KABIL will commence the exploration and development of 5 lithium brine blocks, namely Cortadera-I, Cortadera-VII, Cortadera-VIII, Cateo-2022-01810132, and Cortadera-VI, covering an area of about 15,703 hectares in the Catamarca province of Argentina.

KABIL is also preparing to establish a branch office in Catamarca, Argentina, with a total project cost of ₹200 crores.

With this agreement, KABIL has obtained exploration and exclusivity rights for 5 blocks to evaluate, prospect, explore, and, subsequent to the existence/discovery of lithium minerals, the right to harness the mines for commercial production.

Argentina is part of the “Lithium Triangle” along with Chile and Bolivia, possessing more than half of the world’s total lithium resources. Argentina boasts the distinction of having the 2nd largest lithium resources, 3rd largest lithium reserves, and the 4th largest production in the world.

The government believes that this move will not only boost its quest for sourcing lithium but will also bring in technical and operational experience for brine-type lithium exploration, exploitation, and extraction.

Minister Pralhad Joshi termed the agreement as historic, scripting a new chapter in bilateral ties and playing a crucial role in driving the energy transition for a sustainable future.

The Mines Ministry described the development as a step towards ensuring a resilient and diversified supply chain for critical and strategic minerals essential for various industries in India.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Godrej Consumer sees minimal effect of Argentina’s currency devaluation on Q3 profitability

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Godrej Consumer Products said on Friday that the overall impact of Argentina’s recent currency devaluation on profitability remains minimal in the December quarter of the current financial year.

In an update to the stock exchanges, Godrej Consumer Products has explained hyperinflation accounting, along with the impact of the devaluation of the Argentine Peso on the operating performance for the quarter ended December 31, 2023.

The company informed the bourses that the recently elected new Argentinian government devalued the Argentine Peso to US Dollar from 361 to 808 last month. The currency devaluation is an attempt by the government to improve the country’s economic conditions as the Argentinian economy is facing hyperinflationary pressures.

As a result, accounting regulations require the Year-to-Date (YTD) Statement of Profit and Loss to be translated at the closing rate for presentation in Consolidated Financial Statements, Godrej Consumer Products stated. Thus, the devaluation of the Argentine Peso has impacted the company’s financial statement for the nine months ended December 30, 2023.

This has led to a negative mid-single-digit impact on the company’s consolidated sales performance in the December quarter. However, Godrej Consumer Products added that since the profitability of the Latin America and SAARC businesses remained flat in the first half of FY24 (1HFY24), the overall impact of the devaluation of the Argentine Peso was minimal on the company’s profitability.

The mega-cap stock with a market capitalisation of ₹1,18,713 crore has gained 18% over the past three months and have given a healthy double-digit return of 29% in the last one year.

Shares of Godrej Consumer Products were trading flat at ₹1155 apiece, flat in the red, on NSE at 3.29 PM.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Magnitude 5.5 earthquake strikes La Rioja, Argentina

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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An earthquake of magnitude 5.5 struck La Rioja Province, Argentina on January 3, 2024, at 5.04 am local time (1:34 pm IST).

The quake, which originated at a moderate depth of 127 km, was felt by residents near the epicentre.

The exact magnitude, epicentre, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their reports.

🔔#Earthquake (#sismo) M5.6 occurred 107 km W of #Vinchina (#Argentina) 4 min ago (local time 05:04:01). More info at:
📱https://t.co/IbUfG7TFOL
🌐https://t.co/nN5Uv11R6j
🖥https://t.co/42ad5PGlpT pic.twitter.com/oaovHisGxl

— EMSC (@LastQuake) January 3, 2024

Also Read: Japan adds rescuers as toll from January 1 earthquake rises to 64

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Argentina’s first ‘reconstruction’ bond sale to importers flops

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Argentine Central Bank’s first auction to pay down importers’ debts owed to suppliers abroad flopped on Thursday as the monetary authority only sold a fraction of the total it had offered.

The central bank reported that it sold just $68 million after receiving 34 offers from Argentine importers when it previously announced a maximum of $750 million in notes available. Bloomberg reported the sum earlier on Thursday. Importers bought the bonds first, but have the right to resell most of the notes in the secondary market to other investors.

In a statement, central bank officials anticipated that “the volume of participation will go up,” as the bank “continues clarifying the operative processes for subscription and required documentation.”

The auction results mark Milei’s first setback in markets after a relatively successful currency devaluation followed by a record sale of peso debt, build up of foreign reserves and dollar bond rally. Clearing away the $30 billion importers owe abroad is a key step before Milei’s administration can remove byzantine financial controls it inherited from the previous government. The bonds serve another purpose too of mopping up peso liquidity that could stoke inflation already above 160%.

“The instrument is very important for the exchange rate unification of Argentina, because it helps to normalize the debt stocks of importers and serves as a mechanism to absorb pesos from the economy,” said Pedro Siaba Serrate, a senior economist with PP Inversiones in Buenos Aires. “If the government wants to achieve exchange rate unification, this should work better.”

The dollar-denominated securities, called “Bopreal” — which stands for “bonds for the reconstruction of a free Argentina” — offer a 5% annual interest rate, and are aimed at “providing predictability to payments associated with the stock of commercial debt of importers,” according to the central bank.

A chronic dollar shortage and strict capital controls during the previous government of President Alberto Fernandez backlogged billions in payments, indebting importers and putting a bottleneck on trade. Before the central bank lifts all of Fernandez’s financial controls, importers need to settle their debts abroad to improve the monetary authority’s balance sheet.

The notes “will offer an orderly solution to resolve the crisis generated by the accumulation of commercial debts of importers at unmanageable levels in the short term,” policymakers said in a statement. The debt can be bought in local currency, which in turn would help the central bank absorb some pesos in the economy in a bid to ease soaring inflation.

Monetary authorities plan on holding two auctions a week until the end of January 2024.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Argentina’s new president Javier Milei lays off 5,000 government employees hired in 2023

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The administration of Argentina’s new President Javier Milei said on Tuesday that his government won’t renew contracts for more than 5,000 employees hired this year before he took office.

The move was part of a sweeping plan of cutbacks and devaluations announced by the right-wing libertarian since he took office on Dec. 10 to transform Argentina’s struggling economy.

The contracts for other government employees, who were hired prior to 2023, will be reviewed, authorities said. The 2023 cutoff is apparently meant to target the practice of outgoing presidents padding the payrolls in their final year.

With inflation expected to reach about 200% by the end of the year, Milei has pledged to reduce government regulations and payrolls, and allow the privatization of state-run industries as a way to boost exports and investment.

The cutbacks have already drawn protests but Milei has vowed to forge ahead.

“The goal is (to) start on the road to rebuilding our country, return freedom and autonomy to individuals and start to transform the enormous amount of regulations that have blocked, stalled and stopped economic growth,” he said.

Approximately 300 changes announced previously would earmark many government companies for privatization, and loosen protections for renters, employees and shoppers.

The steps include a 50% devaluation of theapeso, cuts to energy and transportation subsidies, and the closure of some government ministries. They come amid soaring inflation and rising poverty.

Milei, a 53-year-old economist who rose to fame on television with profanity-laden tirades against what he called the political caste, became president with the support of Argentines disillusioned with the economic crisis.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Javier Milei unveils broad reforms to liberalise Argentina economy

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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President Javier Milei announced sweeping reforms to reduce the hand of the state in Argentina’s economy, including steps to privatize companies, facilitate exports and end price controls.

The libertarian leader listed 30 initial points of his plan in a televised address Wednesday night, adding they’re part of a broader package containing over 300 measures.

“I’m signing an urgent decree that will kick-start the process of economic deregulation that Argentina needs so much,” he said in the speech delivered from the presidential palace, flanked by his entire cabinet.

His plan comes one week after Economy Minister Luis Caputo announced deep budget cuts and a 54% devaluation of the peso as part of a shock-therapy program designed to avoid hyperinflation and put the economy back on track. Markets have so far applauded the moves, sending bond prices to two-year highs and keeping the peso’s parallel exchange rates little changed.

While Milei said he’ll send lawmakers a set of complementary proposals, it’s unclear how far he can go in implementing his plan by decree. What’s certain is that he’ll face opposition in congress, where he doesn’t have a majority even with the combined votes of the business-friendly coalition that’s likely to support him.

Some measures are likely to be challenged in the courts, and the opposition has already started to organize demonstrations against his policies. The first major protest against Milei took place earlier on Wednesday and was largely contained by an unusually large police force, ensuring few streets were blocked.

Here’s a list of Milei’s initial policy changes, whose architect was Federico Sturzenegger, a former central bank chief during the government of Mauricio Macri:

• Prepare all state-owned companies to be privatized
• Authorize the shareholder control of Aerolineas Argentinas to be partly of completely transferred to private parties
• Deregulate satellite Internet services to allow SpaceX’s Starlink to operate in Argentina
• Eliminate price controls on prepaid healthcare plans
• Eliminate the monopoly of tourism agencies to deregulate the sector
• Repeal the current Rent Law that limits price increases in a bid to normalize the real estate market
• Repeal the current Land Law that limits ownership of land by foreigners in a bid to promote investments
• Scrap the currrent Supply Law that allows the government to set minimum and maximum prices and profit margins for goods and services of private companies
• Eliminate the Economy Ministry’s price observatory to “avoid the persecution of companies”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow