2024-02-01 19:22:11
President Javier Milei held a meeting this Thursday with Larry Fink, CEO of the global investment fund BlackRock, the largest in the world. After this, Fink confirmed that he will visit Argentina in May to hold meetings with the Argentine Head of State and his team in order to finalize “possible investment projects.”
The information was published by the Government through a press release. According to them, Milei and Fink spoke about “the current and future panorama of Argentina,” and during the conversation, Fink “expressed his interest in evaluating investment opportunities in infrastructure in the country in situ, which predicts a boost to economic development.” from the country”.
“In this way, Fink confirmed his visit to Argentina in May, where he will be received by President Milei and his team in order to finalize possible investment projects,” the statement added. The new Argentine ambassador to the United States, Gerardo Werthein, also participated in the meeting.
Milei had another virtual meeting with the founder of the popular dating app Tinder – X
During his press conference, presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni stated that “Fink comes to ratify a long-term investment path, like other businessmen who have met with the President.” Asked if BlackRock could participate in the privatizations planned by the Government, Adorni said that “the meeting has not yet occurred but there is an intention to invest in a logical and predictable Argentina.”
What is BlackRock, the investment fund that “bets” on Argentina
BlackRock, founded in 1988, is the largest global investment fund in the world, with assets close to $10 trillion, and its portfolio represents approximately 7.7% of world GDP. It operates globally with 70 offices in 30 countries and clients in 100 countries.
The company is ranked 184th on the Fortune 500 list of the largest corporations in the United States by revenue.
In Argentina, the world’s largest asset management company is known for operating very high-risk portfolios. In addition to having purchased Argentine debt securities, as reported by Clarín, the fund acquired shares of key companies such as Mercado Libre, Tenaris, Grupo Galicia, Banco Macro, Telecom, Pampa Energía, TGN, Arcos Dorados and Adecoagro, among others.
In turn, although this is not data in the public domain, the market estimates that BlackRock would be the main minority shareholder of the Galicia Group, with nearly 6 million shares (2.6% of the total), the second holder of securities. of Banco Macro (2 million shares) and would also have a significant stake in the Supervielle and Santander banks.
Apart from the financial area, the investment fund would maintain a strong “bet” on Argentina, with almost 10 million YPF shares, which would make the fund the main private shareholder of the oil company under state control (1.7% of the total). . It would also be the main minority shareholder in Edenor, Telecom and Central Puerto, and the second in Transportadora del Gas del Sur, while Pampa Energía, Loma Negra or IRSA would have relevant participation.
Who is Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock
Larry Fink, American political scientist, businessman and financier, was one of the few top-level figures on Wall Street who expressly supported Argentina in the trial with the “holdouts,” who had refused to enter the debt swap of February 2005 and They initiated legal actions against the country.
Fink even appeared as “amicus curiae” of our country before the New York court and rejected the ruling of Judge Thomas Griesa.
In 2016, Fink was received at the Casa Rosada by then-president Mauricio Macri. At that time, the magnate informed him of his interest in participating in the Argentine real estate market and investing in the energy area. The then Minister of Finance, Alfonso Prat Gay, and the presidential advisor on Foreign Investment, Horacio Reyser, participated in that meeting.
At that time, as compiled by the same media, Fink told Macri that the firm was evaluating financial instruments to develop housing in the country and indicated the interest in making long-term investments in shale oil and renewable energies.
Then, in 2020, the CEO participated in the conference “Rebuilding the future: the new normal”, organized by Banco Santander. At that time, he praised the restructuring of private debt in foreign currency undertaken by the Argentine Government, but warned that “enormous volatility” persisted in the local economy.
Fink stated that for this reason “the costs always end up falling on foreign investors.”
“Right now we have no confidence. What’s more, I think it will take a long time for there to be private investments in Argentina again,” declared the magnate in the midst of the pandemic, although he slipped that he was open to the possibility of assuming Argentine risk if the “Government gives us back the confidence to invest again.” . Let’s hope so.”
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