Investing in Argentina Stocks -Perspectives
I spend considerable time in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Have been in the country off and on for a few years, seen the financial crisis of 2001 from just across the border (I was in Chile at that time) and how suddenly the most expensive city in the world (Buenos Aires) became one of the cheapest cities in the world. The Peso collapsed. Chileans rushed in to buy Apartments in Argentina. Chilean and Brazilian companies bought Argentine companies. US mutual funds wanted to have their own share (after their own brethren losing billions of dollars in defaulted Argentine Bonds) and bought shares in companies as well.
And here we are, in December 2005. The summer is setting in, it gets hotter by the day. And Argentina has nowhere to go but up from here.
You see, The Peso trades at 3 pesos to a dollar. While that in itself tells you nothing, take it from someone who lives here and has traveled a little in the world that things are not that expensive here, for the quality of life you can live. And Buenos Aires might be recovered, but the rest of Argentina has a lot of room to grow.
Fortunately for the American and global investor, you can play the Argentine market easily. Many big companies of this country have stocks listed as ADR's on the US exchanges.
Two big banks are Banco Galicia, GGAL, and Banco Frances, BFR. These two have the lion's share of Argentina's banking industry, together with Banco de la Nacion, the State run bank.
IRS is Inversiones and Representaciones S.A., the biggest real estate investment company (REIT) in Argentina. It owns a lot of properties, mostly commercial. Some of the biggest Malls in Argentina are owned by IRS.
LQU is Quilmes, the biggest beer company in Argentina, which is actually controlled by Brazil's Ambev now (of course most Argentines don't know this. They ones who do, don't like to accept it...).
YPF is the oil giant of Argentina, kinda like what Exxon Mobil is to US.
Sanjay John G.
More on my blog at:
www.fonisol.com/blogs/argentina-stocks/argentina-stocks-investing.htm
Sanjay John G. |
