AmCham Says US Firms Will Invest Billions in Argentina This Year

Alejandro Díaz, President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Argentina (AmCham), has stated that U.S. companies in in the South American country are performing well and that investment will increase dramatically in the years to come.

According to his statement, published by Buenos Aires Herald, U.S. businesses are set to invest US$20billion over the next year, particularly in the country’s oil and gas sector.

“We are talking about a figure that is three times bigger than the overall foreign investment in Argentina,” Díaz said, adding that the energy sector was offering “incredible opportunity”.

AmCham represents about 622 companies operating in Argentina that directly employ 360,000 people, contributing 18.6% of the country’s GDP and 38% of tax revenue.

Díaz, according to the Herald, stated that American businesses have always seen Argentina as a place to invest, although many U.S. investors have stayed away from the South American country after it defaulted on bond payments last year.

However Argentina’s vast oil and gas reserves still offer an irresistible opportunity for American firms. Chevron, for example, has allied with Argentina’s state-run oil firm YPF S.A. to develop a shale gas field in Neuquén province.

Although the cheap Argentine currency makes the country an ideal place to export from, decreasing demand for oil in the global market is likely to make several U.S. companies to wait before making major investments in the sector.

“International oil prices may be an element to consider in today’s scenario,” the Herald quoted Diaz as saying. But AmCham said US firms may even find interest in investing in Argentina’s telecom sector.