Argentina's Government Vows To Maintain Stakes In Companies
06 7월 2010 - 6:52AM
Dow Jones News
Argentina's government says it has no plans to sell the stakes
in local companies that it inherited when it nationalized
private-sector pension funds in late 2008, as it would damage the
interests of both the state and the companies.
With the opposition calling for higher payouts for pensioners,
and a debate under way about how the government should finance
government pensions, Economy Minister Amado Boudou ruled out the
sale of shares in the 43 companies in which it now owns stakes,
ranging from tiny fractions to a 31% stake in Banco Macro
(BMA).
"We haven't done this [sell any shares], nor are we going to do
this," Boudou said at a press conference to discuss pension
payments. This provides peace of mind for directors and workers,
and safeguards the Argentine economy, he said.
In late 2008, the state social security plan ANSES took over
some $23.5 billion in assets, including shares, from about 10
private-sector pension funds. Small stakes owned by each of the
funds in some of the largest Argentine companies were merged under
single ownership, giving the government significant clout.
According to ANSES, its total investment in shares was worth
15.9 billion Argentine pesos ($4 billion) at the end of April,
equivalent to about 11% of its total assets. It received ARS311
million in dividends in 2009, and expects to receive ARS577 million
in 2010, according to a June 1 presentation by ANSES to
Congress.
ANSES, through its Fondo de Garantia de Sustentabilidad, owns
about 19.4% of Pampa Energia (PAMP.BA, PAM), about 25% of Telecom
Argentina (TECO2.BA, TEO), 20% of Grupo Galicia (GGAL), and about
7% of Petrobras Energia (PZE).
Boudou said that if the government took the "irresponsible
action" of selling the shares, losses would be about 50% of the
value of companies such as Telecom, Siderar (ERAR.BA) and Banco
Macro. It would also risk putting ownership of the companies into
the hands of international speculators, Boudou said. "This would be
a loss of private and social capital which this government is going
to defend," Boudou said. "When we see what effect the instantaneous
sale of shares and investment funds could have, we also see this
would have a stong impact on the consumption and credit of
Argentine families."
The impact of the pension fund takeover on the local stock
market was devastating. Not only did the government remove the main
players practically overnight, but it also consumed most of the
free float, leaving just a small fraction of shares available for
investors to trade. Market participants say that ANSES is far less
active than the pension funds were. Share trading, which had
already dwindled since an economic collapse in 2001-2002, shrunk
even further to levels of around $10 million a day.
Furthermore, the government has been accused of using those
stakes to exert influence over some of the companies. ANSES's role
should be limited by a rule that prevents it from having more than
5% of the voting shares, but at least one company has questioned
whether that works in practice.
"ANSES has already attempted to exercise voting powers
commensurate with its total share ownership at various shareholder
meetings of many companies, including Telecom Argentina," the
Argentine telephone company said in a recent filing with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission. "In the majority of these
cases, these companies have opposed ANSES' actions and the parties
have reached an agreement."
One of Telecom's main owners, Telecom Italia (TIT.MI, TI), has
been involved in a long antitrust battle with the Argentine state.
The government wants Telecom Italia to sell its stake because the
Italian company is partly owned by Spain's Telefonica (TEF), which
owns the other main Argentine telephone company, Telefonica
Argentina, creating what authorities consider a monopoly in the
local market.
In the SEC filing, Telecom Argentina said that the
"nationalization of Argentina's pension and retirement system
constitutes a significant change in the government's approach to
exercising influence over Argentina's main publicly traded
companies."
"On average, approximately 20% of the share ownership and a
significant portion of the public float of these companies were
owned by the [private pension funds] and are now held by ANSES,"
Telecom said. There's an "absence of clearly established policies,"
and the criteria for electing ANSES representatives to boards of
directors "is still unknown, as are its mandates," it added.
-By Matthew Cowley, Dow Jones Newswires; +54 11 4103 6740;
matthew.cowley@dowjones.com