Member Info for optimist13

stubluekpl - you clearly have not been following evnet here. All of the previous BOD have now left the company and Sterling Trust, who own 54% of the shares in Rurelec are in administration. The administrators have indicated they expect to achieve a sale price of circa 4.00 pence per share and the new owners will be able to appoint their own directors due to the size of the holding. Currency controls have been lifted in Argentina which will now allow the company to repatriate some of the outstanding loan and interest payments that are overdue. The need for fundraising at a deeply discounted price will thus be avoided and all of the shorters/derampers now have a conundrum.

Ask moving up on every buy at the moment.

Good article out today. Worth a read: https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/argentinas-new-president-lays-groundwork-better-economy

Good to see a bit of volume today with 4.2m traded. It is not going to take much to really get this moving as there are no cheap shares about.

Another delayed buy for 900k just gone through at 1.30p

Slight error on the last post. The figure was $40m, which with today's exchange rate would be circa £26m.

Imagine what would happen if the EdS loan book was sold. Last March this statement was made: "In Argentina, Rurelec continues to work on a transaction intended to release and repay in US dollars the bulk of the Company's project loans to its Energia del Sur combined cycle gas turbine power plant. Rurelec has now initiated a 40 MW expansion project in Comodoro Rivadavia for the installation of a 6B open cycle gas turbine under a new Resolution 220 contract with payments denominated in US dollars. Energia del Sur continues to perform well and it remains one of the highest availability plants in Argentina." Now that the currency controls have been lifted, I'll bet there is a lot more interest in buying the book. The figure was £30m at the last update.

It is now 3 months since the administrators were appointed at Sterling Trust. The main asset of the company is their 54% holding in Rurelec. As I said yesterday, the estimated realisation value for the holding is at circa 4.00p per shares, but that was before the positive developments in Argentina regarding the repatriation of funds. I see we are moving up this morning on very little buying and this is likely to continue as investors consider the potential upside. News from the company is long overdue, and confirmation of funds being received from EdS would certainly give the share price a lift. The sale of the Sterling Trust shares at circa 4.00p or above would have the same effect.

Gerhart - on the 7 December 2015 the administrators lodged a Statement of administrator's proposals. Form 2.17B. In the statement, the investment in quoted companies is shown as £34.9m and the estimated realisable value is £15.84m. The quoted company investments relate to three companies, one of which is in administration. The other two are Rurelec and IPSA. From the value of the investment in each of the companies, you can deduce the value attributable to each company, which IMO equates to circa 4.00p for the Rurelec holding. It is also my opinion that the value of the Rurelec holding will have increased since then given the changes in Argentina, but it all depends on the level of interest from external parties. The important thing for me is that the said parties would have effective control of the company and given that there has been a clear out of the previous directors, effective change can be implemented immediately. I see very limited downside at the current share price and tremendous upside, which will be governed by what the administrators realise for the 54% block.

If anyone cares to read all of the RNS's relating to the investment in Argentina, they will find that the company has always been very positive about the outlook, with the exception of the currency controls which limited its ability to repatriate funds. If one then cares to read the changes that the new government have implemented in Argentina, they will find that the currency controls have been lifted. No if's or but's, they are lifted and companies can now repatriate funds at a rate of $2m per month. The company is owed outstanding monies from EdS in the form of loan repayments plus interest. All this information is there in black and white in recent RNS's. For whatever reason, the directors tried to rush through a placing at a huge discount to the net assets, which fortunately was blocked by the administrators for the Sterling Trust 54% block of shares. The directors stated at the time that they were financially managing the business on a day to day basis and inferred the company would not survive if the placing did not go ahead. Low and behold, 2 months later the company seems to be managing. It seems very apparent to me that in certain quarters, a placing had been factored in to their strategy and will say anything to discredit the facts or anyone who is taking a positive view of the changing fortunes for Rurelec in Argentina. It is also a fact that the administrators for Sterling Trust have publicly stated that 'in their opinion' based on information supplied to them, the shares in Rurelec are worth circa 4.00p. The administrators for Sterling Trust are now in the driving seat and they have given themselves a year to complete the administration process. The sale of the block of shares could be announced tomorrow, or equally could be in a few months time. It does not matter to me as I am in no hurry to dispose of my holding. Good luck to all genuine holders, and if people/parties are shorting the share, I hope you well and truly get burnt.

I take it you must be referring to KAMEL17. I have him on filter, so haven't got a clue what he is saying. No doubt he is still trying to dissuade people from investing with his negative sentiment. Fortunately, if people do their own research, the facts will speak for themselves. You cannot argue with the fact that the administrators for Sterling Trust have signed off on a document which estimates the value of the shares in Rurelec at circa 4.00p each.

Flightman - Sterling Trust appointed administrators on the 8 October 2015. In December, it was estimated that the value of the assets in RUR and IPSA were £15.8m. On that basis, it would give a value of the RUR shares of circa 4.00p. Since then, we have had the political changes in Argentina which has resulted in the lifting of the currency controls. In my view, this substantially increase the value of the Rurelec shares. As you point out, the NAV is 7.5p, but this after the impairment to the loans in EdS. With the lifting of the currency controls, the outstanding loans and interest can now be repatriated, which should mean that the impairment can be reversed, thus increasing the NAV. There should definitely be interested parties in acquiring the the 54% block of shares in Rurelec, which even if they bought for a 50% discount to net assets would still give a price of circa 4.00p. According to the accounts, EdS is profitable on a consistent basis. Reducing the subsidies to customers and further inducements by the new government to the energy sector, should increase those profits further. It is now over 3 months since the Sterling Trust administrators were appointed and 2 months since the 'Open Offer' proposals. It is about time that the company gave an update as to what is going on, and also to confirm that funds are indeed able to be repatriated. The company originally stated they were looking to repatriate £2m per quarter. They should update shareholders on what the current intentions are.

Should be seeing news of the electricity price increases soon: http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2016/01/14/argentine-government-says-fighting-inflation-its-next-goal-n2104918 Extract BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — After lifting currency restrictions and free-floating the peso in December, the focus of Argentina's government will now be on fighting inflation, Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay said Thursday. "To control price expectations is the government's biggest worry," Prat-Gay said, adding that it will not be easy given the state the economy. Annual inflation is expected to reach 25 percent in 2016. He said the government hopes to have inflation slowed to 5 percent by 2019. Prat-Gay recognized that an obstacle to reducing inflation will be the government's own plan to end subsidies on electricity and gas consumption, which will cause prices to go up. The subsidies, a mark of the previous administration of President Cristina Fernandez, helped lift the country's fiscal deficit to a 30-year high, he said. "Some prices will go up because they have not been adjusted for 10 years," said Prat-Gay. But he added that he is confident the inflation targets announced by the government are adjusted to absorb the shock of these relative price hikes.

Yes, the 2 x 500k trades look like sells. However, I don't think many will be selling at anywhere near the current price, and it should move back up very quickly with any sustained buying. The good news is that following the rejection of the 'open offer', there are no cheap shares about. And following the changes in Argentina, the company should now be repatriating funds which will alleviate the need to raise funds when the share price is so low in relation to its market capitalisation.

Gehert - found the relevant section in the AIM rules: http://www.londonstockexchange.com/traders-and-brokers/rules-regulations/change-and-updates/stock-exchange-notices/2000/n1400pdf.pdf "securites with an NMS of 2000 and above, and larger than 6 x NMS not falling into the above category, are held back from publication for 60 minutes from the time of execution of the transaction and are then published"

Gehart - I don't know the exact science, but my understanding is that if a trade is larger than what is on offer from the MM's, it can be delayed for up to one hour. I'm sure someone with more knowledge on the subject will be able to keep me right.

There we have it. A 1m delayed buy. Looking good.

PEEL moved the bid at 11.14. If it is a large buy, it should show at 12.14. This will rocket on the first sign of positive news concerning the sale of the 54% holding by the Sterling Trust administrators. The good news is that it could happen at any-time and you wont be able to buy at anywhere near the current price. You have to be in it to win it.

Interesting comments from the Finance Minister: http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/206656/government-presents-2016-fiscal-plan-inflation-of-25-fiscal-deficit-of-48-of-gdp Extract "I want society to know, this government is addressing this situation,” he said warning the new administration found “a notable imbalance of relative prices.” According to the minister, the impact of the dollar restrictions lifting on prices was not as big as predicted by some analysts. He continued to refer to soy bean export taxes that Mauricio Macri’s administration has reduced, saying “we understood regional economies were broken and if that happened, the country will break.” Prat Gay added the government seeks to “subsidy those who really need it,” in reference to a subsidy scheme to utility rates imposed by Cristina Fernández de Kirchner government. "We are willing to lift subsidies to the 30 or 40% richest sectors of society,” he announced. The minister pledged to eliminate the controversial income tax to salaries below 30 thousand pesos and to modify the tax scheme."

Detailed article in Wall Street Journal regarding the meetings starting today: http://www.wsj.com/articles/argentina-seeks-to-end-dispute-with-creditors-1452631335