Fernandez Avoids YPF Takeover in Speech to Argentina’s Congress
This article is for subscribers only.
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner defused speculation she would announce a takeover of the country’s biggest energy company today during an annual speech to Congress. Shares of YPF SA soared.
Fernandez vowed to guarantee the country’s fuel supply without calling for new measures against YPF, the local unit of Madrid-based Repsol YPF SA. She criticized the company for cutting production since 1999 and said higher fuel imports were hurting the country’s trade balance, which fell to $10.3 billion last year from $11.6 billion a year earlier.