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Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Argentina set for M&A boom under Milei, with energy in focus, PwC says
BUENOS AIRES, June 9 (Reuters) - Argentina's mergers and acquisitions market could grow significantly in the coming years if President Javier Milei's economic reforms continue, Juan Tripier, director of M&A and corporate finance at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Argentina, told Reuters. Investors have shown renewed interest in Argentina following Milei's measures, which include sharp reductions in inflation and public spending, a restored fiscal surplus, and relaxed foreign exchange controls. "Two, three years ago you contacted an international company, an international investor, and Argentina was a bad word. That has changed since Milei became president," Tripier said in an interview with Reuters in Buenos Aires. "There's a lot of excitement," he added. "That excitement is both shared by international players, or international investors, and local players." Tripier said that within three to five years Argentina could beat previous peak M&A years, when there were 120-150 transactions annually, with diversified activity across sectors such as agribusiness, food, and infrastructure. Historically, Argentina's deals involving multinational companies were dominated by energy, mining, and technology, though foreign investors are now expected to expand into other industries. In 2024, Argentina recorded 99 M&A deals, the highest since 2019, with transaction values reaching $8 billion—the largest amount since 2017, PwC data showed. Despite the surge, investors remain cautious due to lingering dividend repatriation restrictions and high country risk. "Now you talk to investors abroad, they analyze opportunities. Before they would say: No, Argentina is out of the spectrum. Now they analyze the investment, they say: I want to wait and see if the economy really consolidates," Tripier said. Vaca Muerta, the world's second-largest unconventional gas reserve and fourth-largest oil reserve, located in the province of Neuquén, is one of Argentina's main attractions. "With the increase in investments not only in upstream development but also in infrastructure—pipelines, processing plants, and liquefied natural gas projects—we expect realignments aimed at diversifying producers' exposure, with some buying and others selling," said energy lawyer Jose Martinez de Hoz of Martinez de Hoz & Rueda. Daniel Dreizzen, former Secretary of Energy Planning and director at consultancy Aleph Energy, projects $11.553 billion in hydrocarbon exploration investments for 2024. "There's been a lot of M&A activity. At Aleph, we're talking to investors who are very interested in Argentina—obviously with caution given our track record—but they're looking at opportunities," Dreizzen said.
Bloomberg
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Bloomberg
Milei Beefs With Netflix Star Over Price of a Dozen Empanadas
President Javier Milei and his finance chief criticized a globally known Argentine actor for complaining that the country's staple food was overpriced, stirring debate about how expensive Argentina has become in dollar terms. Ricardo Darin, the award-winning star of Netflix science-fiction hit The Eternaut drew the administration's ire when he told a popular weekend dinner-show host he paid 48,000 pesos ($42) for a dozen empanadas and questioned Milei's latest tax measures meant to spur dollar spending. The government accused the actor of snobbery and making generalizations after buying a gourmet version of the savory pastry.
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Argentina's Milei unveils bold plan to lure billions in undeclared dollars back home
Argentina's government on Thursday unveiled an ambitious scheme to bring billions of undeclared U.S. dollars tucked under mattresses or stashed in foreign bank accounts back into the crisis-prone country, as libertarian President Javier Milei seeks to boost Argentina's low international currency reserves and stimulate the limping economy. By eliminating tax reporting requirements, the plan invites savers — who long have swapped their depreciating pesos for American currency in the country's underground market — to spend unreported dollars on everyday transactions at home. The government won't ask questions regarding the source of the repatriated funds, officials promised. 'Your dollars, your decision. What's yours is yours, not the state's,' Milei's presidential spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, said in a press conference announcing the policies. 'You can use them however you want, without having to prove where you got them from.' Milei — who ran on a controversial campaign pledge to 'dollarize' Argentina's troubled economy — wants a new gush of greenbacks to boost the volume of U.S. dollars in circulation. Although Argentina's depleted currency reserves sent Milei backpedaling from his initial campaign trail-fervor for 'burning down' the central bank and adopting the U.S. dollar as the national currency, these latest measures seek to hasten the country's transition to a new currency system that would see dollars gradually replacing pesos. Milei's 'endogenous dollarization' scheme would involve fixing the supply of the local currency even as Argentines could use dollars or pesos. He hopes this would encourage Argentines to use their dollar-denominated savings to buy houses and cars as the economy grows and more cash is needed in circulation. To lay the groundwork, Milei's government last year imposed a generous tax amnesty for Argentines willing to repatriate capital. In April, it lifted most currency controls as part of a $20 billion bail-out deal with the International Monetary Fund, which conditions its support on the government boosting its scarce foreign reserves. 'You can spend those dollars without anyone bothering you. So, you go, you want to buy, I don't know, a house for $200,000, no one has to ask you anything,' Milei told the TV channel of Argentine newspaper La Nacion in an interview Monday. Over decades of financial turmoil, Argentines have come to depend on U.S. dollars to evade a byzantine system of currency controls, hedge against hyperinflation and protect their nest eggs from government freezes, as has happened several times in the country's recent history, such as during the catastrophic 2001 foreign-debt default. 'This is how we reached a catastrophic outcome in which 50% of our economy ended up being informal, and the state, like Big Brother, controlled all of its citizens' transactions, as if they were criminals deserving of punishment,' Adorni said. Argentina's official statistics agency estimates that, as of late 2024, Argentine households and firms held more than $270 billion outside their financial system, largely denominated in U.S. currency. While most of the billions are in foreign bank accounts, a significant amount of cash is also stuffed under mattresses and floorboards and in rented safety deposit boxes in underground vaults across the country. 'Those who do this are not criminals,' Economy Minister Luis Caputo said Thursday. 'They are the vast majority of Argentines who have been abused by excessive taxes and controls. To encourage Argentines to spend their repatriated funds, the new measures scrap strict requirements for businesses and credit card providers to report citizens' purchases to ARCA, Argentina's equivalent of the IRS. They relax strict tax evasion rules so property buyers and public notaries won't need to report transactions. Banks won't be able to request access to clients' tax records. 'It sounds like an invitation not to pay taxes,' said Ignacio Labaqui, a Buenos Aires-based senior analyst at advisory firm Medley Global Advisors. That raises concerns about an injection of potentially dirty funds, some of which could be the product of illegal activity. Asked about the danger created by the new fiscal incentives, the IMF sounded a cautious note. 'The authorities have committed to strengthening financial transparency,' said Julie Kozack, an IMF spokesperson. 'Any new measures, including those that may be aimed at encouraging the use of undeclared assets, should be, of course, consistent with these important commitments.' ___
