Member Info for optimist13

http://www.globaltrademag.com/global-trade-daily/argentina-open-business Extract: For fifteen years, Argentina bided its time, waiting for the right moment to take its place in the international economy. But last month Argentina announced that it was open to the world and international investors responded by rushing across the threshold. The Argentina Business and Investment Forum (ABIF) was a three-day event that drew over 2,000 companies and 400 government representatives from 65 countries to Argentina for the first time. Argentina set the stage for new investments by striking a deal with U.S. creditors, returning the country to the global bond markets for the first time since 2001. The government is breaking from the past by reducing the corruption that held the country back, rolling back restrictions on buying U.S. dollars and reducing taxes on exports. The reforms led to the government selling $16.5 billion in bonds, a record amount for an emerging-market sovereign government. Opening the national cash register made it possible for Argentine corporations to sell debt to foreign creditors. As WPP CEO Martin Sorrell put it, “Argentina is back open for business.” Excited international suitors have anted up to the tune of more than $4 billion in international debt so far. ABIF saw even greater commitments from global corporations. The high attendance at ABIF highlighted the range of investment opportunities offered in Argentina, including in sectors such as agribusiness, biotechnology, and energy, among others. Bob Dudley, CEO of BP was there, and now he’s looking to increase investments in Argentina after witnessing the tremendous change taking place in 2016. “I’m really encouraged by what I hear and what I see [in Argentina]. I think there’s a great future here… I’m excited about it,” said Dudley. Joe Kaeser, CEO of German industrial conglomerate Siemens, signed a letter of intent to participate in up to $5.6 billion of energy, transportation and infrastructure projects in Argentina. “We will help the country to bring it to the level it belongs to,” said Kaeser. Siemens’ investment is looking to add 3,000 jobs, including training 700 young people in new skills. More than only financial investment, ABIF is about “countries coming together,” Kaeser said. “I’m a happy man today because we can help rebuild the country.”

Yes, I think you are right. Following the positive interim report and the fact that the administrators for the Sterling Trust block of shares need to complete a transaction, I would guess a medium term price of 4.00p to 5.00p would not be unrealistic given a NAV of 10p+ if the EdS impairment is included in the figure. We just need the RNS from Rurelec now to confirm the price the assets in Peru have been sold for.

spare a thought for the LTH's. The shares were changing hands for 70.00p in 2008.

Revenues for the half year at EdS was $204m Argentine Pesos, which is circa £10m. Clearly not a small operation and as added security, Rurelec have a first charge over the assets of EdS as security against the loans advanced during the construction phase.

Forgot to add....the bulk of the loans to EdS were made in US dollars, which again significantly increases the value to Rurelec when converted back to sterling.

Good to see a bit of volume going through today. It is worth remembering that we will not see any placing here as the directors were not given the authority to do so at the last AGM. Instead the balance sheet is being improved through the sale of assets in Peru. With break even being achieved at the operating level at the half year, any increase in the repatriation of funds from Argentina in the second half will go straight to the bottom line, and the exchange rate reduction of sterling against the peso will make those returns all the greater.

Adding back the impairment for the assets in Argentina gives us a NAV of over 10p. But, this is a revenue generating profitable asset, so what is it worth to a purchaser. It would have to be three to four times the net asset value of our investment there. Bear in mind you have some very serious players out there looking to invest in Argentina now. No doubt we will see a few sells, but in my view, the share price has a long way to climb before we get back to a sensible valuation.

The buy price has moved up to 1.75p....but you still can't buy any online.

NT - negotiated trade. I bought another 50k this morning by placing a 'limit bid' at 1.65p. You often hear about shares re-rating on the bulletin boards, but I really do believe this will happen here when the asset sale is confirmed and the outstanding creditors paid off. The value of our asset in Argentina has now been transformed because of the changes that have taken place there.

Morning jeddicat - you are certainly right there. As per the interim report, the company is owed £37.5m in outstanding borrowings and interest from EdS and its 50% partner in the project Patagonia Energy Limited. So that figure excludes what our 50% holding in the power plant is worth. Working capital restrictions have eased at EdS, so there is no reason why repayments to Rurelec cannot be increased. Still cannot buy any shares online without going to NT or placing a limit bid.

Re-checking the figures in the interim report which confirm the assets in Peru are valued at £3.35m at the half year, with no adjustment made from the December 15 valuation. The company state that they have a number of potential purchasers for the assets, so they must be confident they will achieve in excess of the book figure for them. Current liabilities on the balance sheet are £2.9m, so the asset sales could pay off all of the liabilities if needed. Then with higher levels of payments being repatriated from Argentina, it should not be too difficult to convert the short term loans into long term loans. Expecting some very positive news over the next couple of weeks.

NMH19 - don't quite understand your post. The ask is currently 1.65p but you can't buy any online at the moment. Were you offered shares at 1.65p?

Definitely coming in from the cold: WTO members accept Argentina’s bid to host 2017 ministerial conference by Armin A. Amio October 4, 2016 (updated) Share1 Tweet0 Share0 Email0 Share3 Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed at a meeting of its General Council on October 3 to accept Argentina’s offer to host the organization’s Eleventh Ministerial Conference (MC11) next year in Buenos Aires. Argentina will be the first South American country to host the biennial event. This year’s conference was hosted by Kenya, in its capital, Nairobi. The WTO is the global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters and importers conduct their business. The Philippines became a member of the WTO on January 1, 1995. Read more at http://www.mb.com.ph/wto-members-accept-argentinas-bid-to-host-2017ministerial-conference/#W2XqPXDpZbDmDitj.99

Well, the buy price has moved up to 1.65p, but you still can't buy any online without going to NT, or placing a limit bid.

In the interim report, the company stated that working capital restriction were easing, so presumably we will see an increase in funds being repatriated in the second half of the year. The good news is that the loans are in US dollars, so given the current exchange rate for Sterling, this will increase the value of the monies received. About time things started to work in our favour.

jeddicat - yes it was. I guess the MM's are trying to collect some cheap shares before the asset sale announcement, as they seem very reticent to move the price up.

My order has been filled, but the MM's are being stubborn for some reason. I imagine they are just waiting for the asset sale to be confirmed before releasing the share price. Good luck to anyone trying to buy shares at the moment.

Again, cannot buy any online at the moment. Have placed a limit buy order at the full ask first thing. Let's see if it gets filled.

Can't see Simon Morris waiting until the end of the month to update the market on the short term loan, so I expect to hear something from the company sooner rather than later. Tried another buy near the close but still couldn't get a quote. Will try again tomorrow.

Good luck to anyone trying to buy shares. Managed to get my 80k, but you can't buy any at the moment unless it is by negotiated trade.