Bolivia has created a new Cabinet-level ministry to defend the country from legal battles sparked by Bolivian President Evo Morales’ drive to nationalize key sectors of the economy.
To be led by Hector Arce, a 37-year-old lawyer and former government coordination minister, the new agency will back state efforts to reclaim control of petroleum, mining, telecommunications and other companies that were privatized during the 1990s, Morales said late on Thursday.
Details on the ministry’s powers and responsibilities were not immediately available, but it appears set to lead often testy takeover talks with foreign companies, now handled by the foreign ministry.
PHOTO: AP
Morales has sought control of many privatized industries, boosting state ownership of Bolivia’s oil and gas sector in 2006 — a so-called “nationalization” that grabbed headlines but allowed most foreign companies to continue operations.
This year he fully nationalized several natural gas producers and logistics companies, including subsidiaries of the Spanish company Repsol YPF and British Petroleum. He nationalized Bolivia’s few railroads last year.
Some companies have threatened to challenge the takeovers in international court, prompting Bolivia to withdraw last year from a World Bank tribunal that hears disputes between governments and foreign businesses. The court’s rulings are often biased, Bolivian officials said.
But still pending before the tribunal is an arbitration request from Italy’s Euro Telecom International, which is disputing Bolivia’s move to nationalize its subsidiary, Entel. The company was Bolivia’s state telephone company until it was privatized in 1995.
Swiss mining company Glencore International has also disputed Morales’ nationalization of a Bolivian tin smelter last year, citing an investment treaty between the two countries.
The case will likely be resolved in ongoing talks over two other Glencore mines, said a mining ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the talks.
At the urging of the World Bank and IMF, Bolivia underwent sweeping privatizations in the mid-1990s, selling state-owned oil and gas, water, power, railroad and telecommunications companies, along with the national airline and state pension plan.
But the policy’s mixed results largely failed to spur the economic growth the international creditors had hoped for, instead prompting the anti-privatization sentiments that drive Morales’ economic policies.
STIMULUS PLANS: An official said that China would increase funding from special treasury bonds and expand another program focused on key strategic sectors China is to sharply increase funding from ultra-long treasury bonds this year to spur business investment and consumer-boosting initiatives, a state planner official told a news conference yesterday, as Beijing cranks up fiscal stimulus to revitalize its faltering economy. Special treasury bonds would be used to fund large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins, said Yuan Da (袁達), deputy secretary-general of the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission. “The size of ultra-long special government bond funds will be sharply increased this year to intensify and expand the implementation of the two new initiatives,” Yuan said. Under the program launched last year, consumers can
Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp said they are leaving a global climate-banking group, becoming the latest Wall Street lenders to exit the coalition in the past month. In a statement, Citigroup said while it remains committed to achieving net zero emissions, it is exiting the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). Bank of America said separately on Tuesday that it is also leaving NZBA, adding that it would continue to work with clients on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The banks’ departure from NZBA follows Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co. The largest US financial institutions are under increasing pressure
TRENDS: The bitcoin rally sparked by US president-elect Donald Trump’s victory has slowed down, partly due to outflows from exchange-traded funds for the token Gold is heading for one of its biggest annual gains this century, with a 27 percent advance that has been fueled by US monetary easing, sustained geopolitical risks and a wave of purchases by central banks. While bullion has ticked lower since US president-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping victory in last month’s election, its gains this year still outstrip most other commodities. Base metals have had a mixed year, while iron ore has tumbled, and lithium’s woes have deepened. The varied performances highlight the absence of a single, over-riding driver that has steered the complex’s fortunes, while also putting the spotlight
Twenty years after he was a young, struggling actor in Toronto, Thomas Lo (盧瑞麟) is now the one giving young Asian actors their big breaks. He just had to go to Hong Kong to do it. The Chinese Canadian has been the creative director of one of the territory’s biggest TV broadcasting companies for only a few years, but is already making original English-language content to reach viewers around the world. “It was a bit of a full-circle moment for me,” Lo said. “You see more Asians, but you’re still seeing the same Asians on screen, right? We’re looking for more opportunities
RSS