All Eyes on Argentina as Stocks Continue to Rise: Why Investors are Flocking
Investors who have lost faith in Argentina's economic conditions may have a change of heart soon. Under President Mauricio Macri's rule, the country is bouncing back from decades of stagnancy, which constituted failed economic policies, defaults, high inflations and recessions.
Argentina's market classification is currently being studied by Morgan Stanley Capital International, which manages the emerging and frontier benchmarks. What they found is promising and could attract plenty of investors in the near future.
Rising Stock Market Value
As noted by The Street, Argentina is regarded as a frontier market, and that the country deserves to have the highest ranking of the list of places to invest overseas. Its market is currently up to almost 12 percent.
Argentina's stock market, deemed as the best in the world, has been improved by the country's agreement with American bondholders over a 15-year debt bout. This progress could help Argentina's comeback into the global capital markets.
There's a huge possibility that Morgan Stanley will upgrade Argentina to an emerging market status in 2017. If this pushes through, capital flows will be allotted $3 billion, which is a significant sum for a market that trades around $70 million each day and could possibly increase valuations.
Who Benefits?
Among those who could benefit from Argentina's potential upgrade are the six stocks that trade as "American depository receipts" in the United States. All of them meet MSCI requirements when it comes to market capitalization and liquidity.
Popular beverage company Coca-Cola has already agreed to invest $1 billion into Argentina, while energy giants BP and Total have also guaranteed their investments. More large companies are expected to follow suit.
U.S. President Barack Obama's upcoming visit to the country, scheduled on March 23 to 24, is expected to encourage investors to take their chances on Argentina, Buenos Aires Herald wrote.
"Obama's visit will be a key factor for US companies to take Argentina into account," JP Morgan Argentina head Facundo Gómez Minujin said, Buenos Aires Herald quoted. "Not only those who already have offices here but also others which now have no ties with the country. They will start looking at Argentina with other eyes."
Minujin, however, said that Argentina's rise won't be a stress-free endeavor. The country's government is still facing economic woes, such as the devaluation of the peso and the resulting higher inflation rate. These factors could put doubts in companies over whether they should invest in Argentina in the long term.
"Argentina needs to be a stable country so companies can forecast what's going to happen in the future and consequently plan whether they will invest or not," Minujin said, as reported by Buenos Aires Herald. "The inflation is the most worrying issue and the government hasn't specified its plan to lower it yet. A country with such a high inflation rate just can't work."
With promising circumstances making their way around, is it safe to say that Argentina's economy eventually booms? Yes, but the government has to take careful, measured steps for this to manifest.
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