ARGENTINA TO THE WORLD
BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT FORUM
PRESS RELEASE No. 3
SUMMARY OF THE PLENARY SESSIONS
Buenos Aires, Argentina - September 13, 2016 .-Innovation, the challenge of long-term funding and
openness to the world were some of the most popular subjects during the first hours of the afternoon at the
Business & Investment Forum, inaugurated today by President Mauricio Macri. The global CEO of The CocaCola Company, Muhtar Kent, shared his long-term vision for the company and the commercial sector.
Some of the big names in the local banking system presented ideas on how to finance long-term growth. The
roundtable addressed the role of Argentine banks, both public and private, and the most prominent
investment areas for the next few years were presented. The panel "The Argentine banking system: How to
finance long-term growth" was moderated by Nicolás Masjuán, a partner at Bain & Company, who said that
"the opportunity for local banks is huge and could triple or even multiply sixfold and reach the levels of Brazil
and Chile. For that, it is necessary to generate trust and to make exchange rates foreseeable and to yield
positive interest rates."
Daniel Llambias, President, ADEBA, Argentina. "This is not the first time we have spoken of the potential of
Argentine banking. Unfortunately, we never get beyond that potential because the value of the country's
currency divided its value by ten 13 times in the last decades. And of course, it is difficult to build trust among
depositors in the face of such scenarios. There are savings in the country, but not in the financial system: we
need to find a way to attract them."
Claudio Cesario, President, ABA, Argentina. "Stressing the value of what Argentina has to offer will cause the
financial system to grow, although today the problem is that the average deposit is for 30 days and the
longest credit only lasts 180 days." We need to develop the capital market, because that is where the 180
billion dollars that the country needs to develop in the coming years will come from. On the banks' side, the
debate is how to achieve financial inclusion instead of always fighting for the same clients."
Juan Curutchet, President, Banco Provincia, Argentina. "If we had invested 100 Argentine pesos in a fixedterm deposit in the '80s, we would only have one peso today. In turn, a real estate fund would had yielded a
return of over 500 pesos. We need to bolster trust in the Argentine peso and the current administration has
been working from day one to reset external credit and enhance the accountability of its statistics, both key
aspects for the generation of trust. In August we already started to see a reduction in the inflation rate and
this phenomenon will generate a virtuous cycle; in fact, mortgage loans are already being reactivated."
Carlos Melconián, President, Banco Nación, Argentina. "What conditions should be met for change to
happen and for the current opportunity not to be wasted? The first unavoidable requirement is for this
country to have a sovereign currency, because a country without a currency has no banks. If we want people
to save in pesos, we cannot afford to have inflation. In this sense, we currently have a good mix of politicians
and technocrats, and we have already started to walk that path."
Pablo García, President, BICE. “We already see a change. From BICE we seek incentives in the market in order
ARGENTINA TO THE WORLD
to generate these long-term credits. And we do so by finding international credit and as a ‘second-tier’ bank.
At this time, we have been able to re-open lines with the IDB, the CAF and the World Bank. We need to
generate stable market conditions and to boost the capital market. This is very important, because banks
give credit to people and companies and then unload that portfolio in the capital market.”
Simultaneously, officials of the Government of the Province of Buenos Aires presented their work schedule
and talked about a possible tax reform and production programs.
Hernán Lacunza, Minister of Finance of the Government of the Province of Buenos Aires. “We come from
economic stagnation, with stagflation. We want the rules of the game to be predictable and stable. With a
healthy foreign exchange market, free movement of capital and access to the voluntary debt market. We
want to start reducing tax pressure, especially the gross income tax, but we need to do so without worsening
an already delicate fiscal deficit. We have a project plan for different sectors: hydraulic works, roads, energy,
water and sewage, architecture and housing; and we need private support for funding.”
Joaquín de la Torre, Minister of Production of the Government of the Province of Buenos Aires. “We know
that the tax pressure is very strong and is related to the national tax sharing plan. This issue is being solved.
At the institutional level, we have large political support from the different political parties.”
In the afternoon, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, Mayor of the City of Buenos Aires, participated in the plenary
session “Innovation as an imperative” and discussed the future of the entrepreneurial spirit and innovation
in the Argentine economy. Afterwards, there was a debate on how to strengthen the innovation ecosystem,
with the participation of leaders of the technology industry, among others.
Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, Mayor, City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. “This is a new era where we are all going
to be working together, so as make the most of our opportunities. You’ll find numerous reasons to invest in
Argentina. Here, in the City of Buenos Aires, we have a talented and creative human capital, full of energy.
Our key comparative is that we combine entrepreneurial drive, creativity and the study of applied sciences.
Becoming a leader in the world is our dream as a city.”
Andrés Ibarra, Minister of Modernization, Argentina. “We are going through a transformation process and
trying to improve Argentina’s position in the world, for it to become an investment pole, to be predictable
and stable, to make it more interesting, and to generate trust. We are modernizing the State in every area
we work on: security, health, education, administrative processes. We need to re-create and to transform
the State in order to put citizens at the forefront and be able to help them.”
Jordi Botifoll, President, Latin America, Senior VP for the Americas, Cisco, United States. “All the things I am
listening to fill me with confidence. My chairman is in love with this country. We are very creative in Latin
America, but if there is no connection with the private sector, then it is very hard. In universities there is
invention, but no innovation. We need to work together in order to modernize a country.”
Pedro de Andrade Faria, Global CEO, BRF, Brazil. “The first time Mr. Macri went to Brazil, he shared his vision
with us: he wanted to have Argentine products in supermarkets all over the world. Here we have an agri-
ARGENTINA TO THE WORLD
processing vocation, and we see many opportunities related to innovation.”
Claudio Muruzabal, President, Latin America, SAP, Germany. “Combining public and private efforts has a
strong impact on innovation. We have talent available in the country and we have to make the most of it.
Through education, we need to generate the possibility to develop technologies with knowledge. We’ll keep
on strengthening our presence in Argentina in order to generate and give opportunities to our best experts,
who are at the level of the world’s best. Argentina is seen differently now. Going out there and explaining
what is being done is a very important change. This is a process of refoundation.”
Timothy Turitto, General Manager, Government, Global Public Sector, Microsoft, United States. “Young
people have to be confident that they will have a job when they complete their education. Therefore, we
need to work so as to involve them in something creative, with things that interest them. That will be a very
important way to guarantee that they will receive education and will want to become a part of the labor
force. Innovation is the elimination of intellectual barriers to change.”
On a different note, one of the interventions that generated many expectations was that of Muhtar Kent,
President and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. Mr. Kent stated: “I am very excited to be here. I can’t think
of a moment more important than this to think about Argentina’s future. Of course, things don’t follow a
straight line and some problems of the past will have to be corrected, but believing in the future is crucial.
As a foreign investor I believe in the future of the country, and that is why we have an investment program
of one billion dollars for the next three and a half years.” Mr. Kent also highlighted that the company will be
celebrating its 75th anniversary in Argentina and that it creates 15,000 direct jobs and other 40,000 in the
supply chain.
During the session called “From the World to Argentina”, public officials from Argentina, the UK and Spain
discussed the process of integration with the rest of the world. Patricia Janiot, CNN in Spanish main anchor,
was the moderator of the panel.
Susana Malcorra, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Argentina. “Argentina is going through an enormous
reconversion process. Not only is it about doing business; the key is to eliminate poverty, to make this country
able to make the most of its opportunities. This comes from a model that was studied and designed inwards.
We defined our values and went out to seek mature relations with the rest of the world. We still have many
changes to make and we cannot say that this is a perfect moment with regards to legal security. But we are
building something: our place in the world.”
Sir Alan Duncan, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, UK. “The world is looking at
Argentina and everyone knows it wants to open up again, regain stability and strengthen foreign relations. I
am certain that Argentina will have a promising future. We share with Argentina the will to look at the future,
discover how to pursue common goals and benefit from them for the well-being of our peoples.”
Jaime García-Legaz, Secretary of State for Trade, Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Spain. “We
had severe difficulties with Argentina in the past due to the previous government’s attitude towards the
companies of our country. Now we see a different attitude. We are certain that in the coming years we are
going to see Spanish investments in Argentina, especially in sectors such as energy, infrastructure, financial
ARGENTINA TO THE WORLD
services and insurance. In some cases they will be massive investments should an agreement be reached
between the Mercosur and the EU.”
ABOUT THE ARGENTINA BUSINESS & INVESTMENT FORUM,
SEPTEMBER 12-15, 2016
Hosted by the Argentina Investment and Trade Promotion Agency and taking place over 3 days at the Centro
Cultural Kirchner (CCK) in the center of the City of Buenos Aires.
The Forum will include plenary sessions, thematic roundtables, bilateral meetings and networking
opportunities across several economic sectors earmarked for growth:
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Oil & Gas
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Power & Renewable Energy
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Agribusiness
Industrial Goods & Services
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Transport & Logistics
Public Works & Infrastructure
Technology & Telecommunications
Financial Services
Tourism
Pharma & Biotechnology
Urban Development & Real Estate
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Mining
An additional day dedicated to Entrepreneurship & New Technologies will be held on September 15.
#InvestArgentina
#ArgentinatotheWorld
#Argentinahaciaelmundo
www.argentinaforum2016.com
Twitter: @invest_ARG
Facebook: /InvestARG/
Contact:
Victoria Azar [email protected]
Paula Rodriguez [email protected]
Dolores Biocca [email protected]