'Argentina is offering Spanish companies investment projects worth 250 billion USD', said Sebastián Laíno, from the Argentine Embassy in Spain, speaking at ESADE
The Argentine government of President Mauricio Macri has opened the doors to Spanish companies to participate in the ambitious plan to modernise the country's infrastructure and restart its economy. Investments in projects under the plan are expected to total $250 billion. The invitation was made by the Economic and Commercial Attaché at the Argentine Embassy in Madrid, Sebastián Laíno, to Spanish investors during his talk at the 'Dialogues on Internationalisation' forum jointly organised by ESADE and MODE Communication and sponsored by CESCE Seguros de Crédito and LIDE Spain.
The Argentine representative explained that the investment plan will give preference to the energy sector, especially renewables, and transport infrastructure, where projects are expected to total $120 billion. Priority will also be given to water sanitation, agribusiness, equipment and machinery, the service sector, new technologies and tourism.
Laíno noted that Argentina's governability and the new direction taken by its economy 'are guaranteed for years to come' and that his government 'is committed to making Argentina a predictable, reliable country. We are not thinking about the short term, but rather the next 20 years, working together with our partners, including Spain and Spanish companies, who will play a decisive role.'
At the event, Jaime García-Legaz, chairman of CESCE Seguros de Crédito, confirmed the interest the South American country has sparked amongst Spanish business owners since President Mauricio Macri took office, noting that CESCE is currently receiving 'an avalanche of loan applications for operations in Argentina'. To date, CESCE has received applications for loans to support Spanish products in Argentina in excess of €1.04 billion.
In 2014, CESCE ceased to cover medium and long-term operations in Argentina, but according to García-Legaz, today the company 'has opened all lines of coverage' for the country. 'Everything has changed in Argentina, and we have seen it in words and deeds', he said, recalling that the Spanish company has concluded an agreement with the Argentine Bank of Investment and Foreign Trade (BICE) to finance the exports of Spanish SMEs.
In the same vein, Alfredo Bonet, the International Director of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, praised 'the Macri government's courage in implementing the pending structural reforms' and stressed that Argentina is one of the priority countries of the Chambers' Internationalisation Plan in BICE? 2017, with a total of 14 promotional actions planned in the country over the year.
'The time has come for Spain to once again become the leading foreign investor in Argentina', Bonet said, citing the efforts of the Argentine government to reopen the country's economy, eliminate import taxes, liberalize the capital markets, slash debt, and restore the reliability of imports. In this context, he advocated giving new impetus to the negotiations for a trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur.
The 'Dialogues on Internationalisation' forum, held on the ESADE campus in Madrid, was moderated by José María Triper, a journalist at El Economista. The opening remarks were delivered by Enrique Verdeguer, director of ESADE Madrid.
