Government presses ahead with privatization of state-owned firms

Argentinas government on Friday launched a bid to privatize public water utility AySA by selling its entire stake in the company to private investors. The move comes amid a broader push to offload state-owned companies and assets, as the government seeks fresh funds in the face of declining tax revenue. The bid was launched through an economy ministry resolution published in the Official Gazette on Friday. Both national and international investors will be able to participate. The states shares represent 90% of the total AySA stock, meaning that the winner of the bid would have almost full control over the firm. The remaining 10% belongs to AySAs workers. The water company is set to become the first public services firm to be privatized during President Javier Mileis administration. According to the official schedule, those who are interested can submit inquiries until August 12, and the deadline for submitting bids is August 27 at 9:59 a.m. through website Contrat.AR. Economy Minister Luis Caputo said that transferring operations to a firm with technical, financial, and operational capabilities will help drive new and better investments, expand the network, and improve service quality for millions of Argentines. We continue to move forward with a model in which the government stops using public companies as political cash cows and instead focuses on ensuring clear rules, promoting competition, and creating conditions for investment and growth, Caputo said in an X post. More privatizations On Tuesday, the government sold its share of energy company Citelec, a firm that operates Transener, Argentinas largest high-voltage electricity transmission company. The shares, representing 50% of Citelecs stock, belonged to state-owned electric company ENARSA and were sold to the Edison-Genneia consortium for US$356 million. The remaining shares are owned by Pampa Energa. This is a new step towards dismantling and privatizing ENARSA. Through its shares, ENARSA had key participation in the operations of Transener, which manages and maintains 85% of the high-voltage network in Argentina and supervises the remaining 15%. Nuclear energy The privatization process is not only affecting public companies but also sovereign assets. Last week, the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA, by its Spanish initials) approved a procedure paving the way for the sale of its tangible and intangible assets, a move critics warn could jeopardize Argentinas sovereignty and undermine more than seven decades of the agencys work. On May 4, the CNEA approved a preliminary procedure to receive inquiries related to the possible submission of private initiatives, according to outlet El Destape. This would allow Argentine and foreign companies to request visiting strategic CNEA assets, which they could eventually purchase. That same day, a delegation from the United States Department of State visited some of Argentinas nuclear stations in the provinces of Buenos Aires and Ro Negro. In late February, Argentine and U.S. authorities met in Washington to move forward with negotiations on a new cooperation agreement for the peaceful use of nuclear energy, such as the one in place since 1997, which will expire in 2027.