In Venezuela, many public companies, including oil, gas and telecommunications companies, which were nationalized under the claim of establishing 21st century socialism under the previous president Hugo Chavez, and which are now in the hands of the state, are partially privatized.
Chavez’s successor, Nicolas Maduro, announced in a live television program that the country’s economy needs hot capital to grow, so as of Monday, May 16, 5 to 10 percent of the shares of the designated public companies will be offered for sale on the Venezuelan stock exchange.
Explaining that domestic and foreign capital owners can become partners in companies in public or public-private partnerships by purchasing the shares offered for sale, Maduro said, “State-owned telecommunications company CanTV, GSM operator Movilnet, petrochemical companies, public and private sector-partnered oil and gas companies, mining in Guayana. You can invest in the shares of companies in the forestry, aluminum and service sectors.
Claiming that they took the decision to privatize public companies, many of which are criticized as dysfunctional, today, for the growth of the economy and the well-being of Venezuelans, Maduro noted that the necessary capital, technology and new markets can be reached in order to improve the welfare level of the people, employment, basic services such as education and health.
Economists point out that some topics may adversely affect the sales process, such as the fact that the financial status of more than 1,200 companies nationalized in Venezuela in the past years has not been disclosed to the public for about ten years, and that 90 percent of these institutions, which have become dysfunctional in the current administration, will remain under the same management after the sale.
There are also non-governmental organizations in Venezuela that have reported that privatizations have begun behind closed doors since last year. For example, the organization called Transparencia Venezuela, which investigates bribery cases in Venezuela, claimed last December that the government had shown that at least 33 cases related to the state-owned agriculture, food, tourism and manufacturing sectors had transferred the management of public companies to private companies.
Maduro said that his country could meet some of the oil and gas deficit in the world energy markets after the invasion of Ukraine, and said, “Our doors are wide open for investors who want to produce oil and gas from Venezuela, no matter which country in the world, including the United States.”