I went to an event a couple of weeks ago – yeah, another one, I go to many!- and had a strange experience. I was talking to an acquaintance who was asking lots of questions about Argentina. I am always happy to respond, and I share as much as I can. But the way this person reacted after my short comment on what the situation is now, as I see it, was a bit much and it was slightly offensive – he was basically saying that I was not being truthful. As if!
I am naturally a positive person, but if you asked me about this topic 2 years ago, the answer was very different. I would talk about the shortcomings of the former administration to anyone who dared to ask, and would advice against going there openly. I even avoided bringing Argentina up in conversation as much as possible. Since Synergy was founded in 2014, until mid 2016, our work was focused on the other countries of the region’s top 6 in mining (namely, Chile, Brasil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru).
Today, it’s a completely different game. The investment climate is changing; for the first time in 5 years, the number of companies is growing (and we track them, so I do know); exploration work is starting to pop up everywhere, chiefly in lithium but also in gold & copper, and although the country needs to continue on the same path for these changes to become permanent, it is the epitome of an opportunity moment. Dozens of mining companies are going there as well as airlines, funds, retailers, etc. The country has so much potential that with policies in place that foster development can get very far. It almost got upgraded to emerging market.
So yes, I am bullish on Argentina. But then, so is JP Morgan. One of us must know what we are saying!
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