RDX : 估计又要出一个债券垃圾了的国家了
BUENOS AIRES -- Argentina's leftist President Cristina Kirchner signed a proposal nationalizing the country's private pension funds in what could be seen as a grab for cash and power amid the global economic crisis.
Associated Press
Brokers work at the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, in Buenos Aires. Argentine stocks fell by more than 11% in reaction to news that the government plans to nationalize private pension funds.
Details of the proposal -- which must be approved by the country's legislature -- were not immediately available. It was signed by Ms. Kirchner, along with Labor Minister Carlos Tomada and Amando Boudou, the head of the national social security system, ANSES. But an announcer during the televised signing ceremony described it as a project to "eliminate" the "capitalization system," a reference to the defined-contribution plans run by 10 private funds known as AFJPs.
In a speech following the signing ceremony, Mr. Boudou said the reform would "rescue Argentine retirees from uncertainty."
The proposal, which triggered a steep drop on Argentina's stock market after it was disclosed by union officials and reported in the Argentine press, reinforces Argentina's image as a pariah in financial circles and represents a repudiation of a system of private pensions that had been in vogue in developing countries. In 2001, Argentina announced the largest sovereign debt default in history.
The government said the takeover of the private system, created as an option to state pension funds in 1994, aimed to protect investors from losses due to the global market turmoil. But economists said the underlying motive would be to provide the government with about $5 billon in annual pension contributions that it needs to plug a gap in financing next year and avert a second debt default.
The measure will require the approval of Congress, where the governing Peronist party has a majority. Opposition leaders vowed to contest the proposal. "In the current context, the government measures aren't designed to better the retirement system, but rather to plunder the funds of the retirees and pay the bills," said opposition leader Elisa Carrió.
Meanwhile, one pension-fund head suggested that contributors inundate the government with lawsuits.
The move comes amid a sharp decline in agrarian commodity prices that Argentina has counted on to pay its debts and fuel growth. Coupled with unchecked government spending, the revenue decline has created a gap of around $10 billion to $11 billion in Argentina's debt service requirements by the end of next year, according to Buenos Aires economist Aldo Abram. Mr. Abram said the pension takeover would help the government close about half the gap, while the rest could be obtained from a state-run bank or by dipping into currency reserves. "It's clearly confiscatory," Mr. Abram said of the government proposal.
Rather than restoring confidence in Argentina's ability to pay its debt, the pension plan further spooked investors. Argentina's benchmark Merval index fell by more than 11% Tuesday. "With the announcement, the custom of violating the rules of the game has been repeated, which deepens the lack of confidence," political analyst Rosendo Fraga wrote in Buenos Aires daily La Nación.
Ahead of Ms. Kirchner announcement, a federal judge ordered the country's pension funds to halt all "modifications to their portfolios" of stocks and bonds over the next seven days.
According to various news reports, Judge Claudio Bonadio ordered the trading halt in response to a claim filed by prosecutor Guillermo Marijuan in which he accused the pension funds of fraudulent securities transactions Monday, when news broke of Ms. Kirchner's plan. The judge's office couldn't be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for the Union de AFJP, a representative group, said she had not received information about the ruling.
Argentina has moved toward normalizing relations with the international financial community. In September, it offered to repay the Paris Club of wealthy nations a debt of $6.7 billion and to reopen a debt restructuring agreement to bondholders who didn't accept it the first time around. The cash squeeze triggered by the global crisis has raised doubts about both initiatives.
Argentina established the private pension funds in 1994, under conservative president Carlos Saúl Menem. Workers had the choice of going into the new system or staying in a revamped state system.
—Michael Casey contributed to this article.
Write to Matt Moffett at matthew.moffett@wsj.com
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