Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Secondary Navigation
Search
Search:
Bolivia nationalizes Chaco oil company
AFP - Saturday, January 24
LA PAZ (AFP) - - Bolivia's President Evo Morales nationalized the Chaco oil company, managed by Anglo-Argentine Panamerican Energy.
"Little by little, we are taking back our companies," Morales said in Chaco's offices in the central town of Entre Rios, after signing the nationalization decree on Friday.
The leftwing president has had his government take over several companies in Bolivia's important gas and oil industry, as well as others in telecoms and mining, since taking power in 2005.
The nationalization of Chaco took place just two days before a referendum on a new constitution Morales has championed.
If passed, as expected, the revised basic law would define Bolivia as a socialist state and give far greater powers, land and revenue to the indigenous majority from which he hails.
Morales, who went to the Chaco offices with a unit of soldiers, charged that "oil companies are not respecting Bolivian standards," and said that his government "will respect private investment as long as they respect Bolivian norms."
"We want partners, not bosses," he said.
The nationalization decision raises state-run Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos' stake in Chaco oil from 49 percent to 99 percent, with one percent still in private investor hands.
Panamerican Energy said on its website it mainly conducts oil prospection in southeastern Bolivia, where the country's richest gas deposits are found.
Chaco's absorption by YPFB began in May 2008, when it gained control of half the foreign company's stock in negotiations.
The move consolidated Morales' hold on Bolivia's gas and oil reserves that began in May 2006 with the nationalzation of 12 oil and gas companies in the area.
A year later, Morales nationalized a foreign telephone company and four other oil companies, including 49 percent of Chaco.
Since the May 2006, Bolivia has received a flood of revenue that reached 1.7 billion dollars in 2007 and an estimated 2.5 billion in 2008.
An admirer of Cuba's Fidel Castro and ally to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Morales -- elected in December 2005 -- has also pushed a plan to redistribute wealth to the country's poor indigenous people.
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Recommend this article
Average (2 votes)
Sign in to recommend this article »
Most Recommended Stories »
Enlarge Photo
A drilling rig east of La Paz. Bolivia's President Evo Morales nationalized the Chaco oil company, managed by Anglo-Argentine Panamerican Energy
Most Popular – Top Stories
Viewed
World crisis deepens as downturn bites in Asia
Obama retakes oath of office
'Dogs don't wear condoms,' says Baywatch star Anderson
Obama steps up anti-recession offensive
US unemployment spikes, housing crisis deepens
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular