VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB
DE RUEHBU #1058/01 1492056
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 292056Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8270
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 6197
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 1264
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 6474
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 0440
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 6064
RUEHGT/AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA 0257
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ MAY STOCKHOLM 0058
RUEHVL/AMEMBASSY VILNIUS 0092
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1257
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 3302
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 2240
UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001058
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
EB/OIA FOR WSCHOLZ, JFINN
PARIS FOR OECD
USDOC FOR 4322/ITA/MAC/OLAC/PEACHER
PASS NSC FOR JOSE CARDENAS, ROD HUNTER
PASS USTR FOR EEISSENSTAT, SCRONIN
TREASURY FOR TRAN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EINV ECON KIPR PREL OECD AR
SUBJECT: NEW GOA INVESTMENT PROMOTION AGENCY TO FOCUS ON HIGH TECH
AND CREATIVE CONTENT SECTORS
REF: Buenos Aires 750
This cable contains business-sensitive information. Not for
internet distribution.
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Summary
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1. (SBU) Beatriz Nofal, head of the GoA's recently established
investment promotion agency, Prosper-Ar, will focus her
organization's efforts on attracting investment in the high tech and
creative content sectors. In a May 18 meeting with Ambassador,
Nofal said she would also like to be become involved in the dialogue
on Argentine participation in a regional bio-fuels initiatives. She
called Argentina's "off-cover" OECD credit rating an impediment to
new foreign investment and agreed that regularizing Paris Club
arrears would go a long way to improving that rating and Argentina's
ability to access G-8 official export credits. Ambassador presented
Nofal an invitation letter to attend the DoC-sponsored Americas
Competitiveness Forum in Atlanta June 10-12, noting that Economy
Minister Miceli, Planning Minister De Vido and Cordoba province
governor De La Sota had already accepted invitations. Nofal noted
that near term plans to visit Spain, Italy and France may make it
difficult for her to accept. With substantial prior government
service, Nofal has been mooted as an Economy Minister candidate in a
possible Christina Kirchner government. Given Prosper-Ar's focus on
the high tech and creative content sector, Post will explore the
possibility of engaging Nofal as a senior level GoA interlocutor to
address U.S. pharmaceutical IPR concerns. End Summary
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Argentina's New Investment Promotion Agency
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2. (SBU) Ambassador met May 18 with Beatriz Nofal, the
Secretary-level head of the GoA's new investment promotion agency,
SIPDIS
Prosper-Ar (Agencia Nacional de Desarrollo de Inversiones).
Prosper-Ar remains in a start-up mode, Nofal said, with only five
professionals on staff and a move into permanent office space
scheduled for June. While getting her Prosper-Ar office fully
staffed and on its feet remains Nofal's first priority, she said the
Foreign Ministry has been pushing her to travel extensively to
promote Argentina as an attractive destination for investment.
Nofal noted she has already planned trips to Spain, Italy and France
in the next few months.
3. (SBU) Prosper-Ar will focus on attracting investment in the high
tech and creative content sectors, given Argentina's highly educated
and internationally competitive skilled workforce. She noted that
American Chamber of Commerce Executive Directors have encouraged her
efforts and listed a number of significant recent investments by
major U.S. players in Argentina, including Google (opening a
regional hub office in Buenos Aires); JPMorgan Chase (recently
opened a financial research hub here); and call center major
Teletech (currently with 3,600 employees in Buenos Aires and,
according to Nofal, plans to expand to the 10,000 level). Nofal
said that Prosper-Ar would also like to be become involved in the
dialogue on Argentine participation in regional bio-fuels
initiatives.
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OECD Credit Rating Concern
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4. (SBU) In the OECD's export credit agency rating scheme, Argentina
is currently rated in the lowest category, Nofal said, effectively
putting Argentina "off-cover" for all major G8 export credit
agencies and investment promotion financing agencies. Nofal said
she had highlighted this with Foreign Minister Taiana as an
impediment to new foreign investment. Ambassador suggested that
regularizing Argentina's Paris Club arrears would go a long way to
improving the nation's OECD credit rating and ability to access G8
official export credits. Nofal agreed.
5. (SBU) In a follow-on conversation with EconCouns, she cited the
recent case of the GoA's call for international bids to construct a
high speed 700 km rail link in stages from Buenos Aries through
Rosario to Cordoba. While four European firms originally presented
themselves as bidders in 2006 (France's Alstom, Germany's Siemens,
Spain's CAF, and Italy's Impregilo) on this $1 billion-plus project,
ultimately only France's Alstom (in a consortia, Veloxia, with local
partners Iecsa, Emepa and Isolux Corsan) made a final proposal in
2007. Nofal said that, while a "normal" bid of this type and
magnitude would be largely underwritten by official export credit
agencies (ECAs), the Veloxia group's financing proposal was entirely
underwritten by France's Societe General at rates substantially
higher than ECAs would normally charge. (Note: Local media has
reported that GoA Finance Secretary Chodos called the conditions
proposed by Societe General "unacceptable." It is not clear whether
Chodos was referring to security conditionality or to pricing. End
Note.)
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Atlanta Competitiveness Forum
-----------------------------
6. (SBU) Ambassador presented Nofal an invitation letter to attend
the DoC-sponsored Americas Competitiveness Forum in Atlanta June
10-12, noting that Economy Minister Miceli, Planning Minister De
Vido and Cordoba province Governor De La Sota had already accepted
invitations. Nofal accepted, contingent on her being able to
re-arrange upcoming travel plans to Europe. (Note: In a follow-on
telecom with EconCouns, Nofal said it was unlikely she would be able
to attend due to conflicting European travel and family obligations.
End Note.) She suggested inviting a number of high-energy private
sector Argentine entrepreneurs, including Fernando Oris de Roa of
Sociedad Anonima San Miguel; Mariano Nejamkis, Presidente of
Deremate.com (Argentina's E-Bay equivalent); and Daniel Van Pierde,
President of Quimica Estrella S.A.
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World Economic Forum (WEF) Santiago
-----------------------------------
7. (SBU) Nofal noted her April 2007 participation in the WEF's
regional Santiago conference, where she participated in a panel on
improving competitiveness and the investment climate in Latin
America. She said she thoroughly enjoyed herself in Santiago and
felt she had effectively rebutted a WEF report released during the
conference that showed Argentina trailing in regional investment.
Nofal said she had been "ambushed" at the WEF conference by a
journalist who took out of context her statement that Paris Club and
bond holdout matters would be only dealt with after upcoming October
2007 elections.
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Comment
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8. (SBU) With a doctorate from Johns Hopkins and with prior service
in the GoA Economy Ministry and in parliament, Nofal has been mooted
as a possible Economy Minister candidate in a Christina Kirchner
government. Her frictions with current Economy Minister Miceli have
also been widely reported in the media.
9. (SBU) Given Prosper-Ar's focus on the high tech and creative
content sector, Post will explore the possibility of engaging Nofal
as a senior level interlocutor to encourage the GoA to engage on
U.S. pharmaceutical investor IPR concerns. During the April 10
roundtable with U.S. pharmaceutical firms (Reftel), company managers
argued that the strongest leverage they may have to push for
improved GoA enforcement of pharmaceutical patents was the
increasing volume of clinical research they conduct here with the
support of highly trained and qualified Argentine scientists and
technicians.
WAYNE