Venezuela now belongs to everyone* *Certain conditions apply
Currently traveling in wonderful Uruguay and between travel and meetings, have had no time to post (or think) but I can’t pass this Setty discovery that among the many agreements signed by Chavez last week with the Chinese Government, there is one to sell shares of a PDVSA unit in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
This Guistiesque-sounding project is incredibly bizarre and the timing is even more puzzling as one of the accusations has been that the opposition wants to privatize PDVSA, but now the revolution, in the name of Sovereignty seems to be ready to do just that, even if the name or nature of the unit is a mystery. Thus, this would remove the issue for the upcoming campaign. Even better, the opposition could replicate this with all units in the future and say Chavez opened the way.
Is that weird or what?
Or was this simply an agreement worked out by the underlings and not checked with anyone? I mean, why not place it in the local exchange and sell the unit to its rightful owners: Venezuelans. Or does Chavismo simply want to sell the country before they leave?
In 1998, there was a project to sell 10% of each of the oil fields sold in the “Apertura” by the Caldera Government to Venezuelan investors, it was called EPIC for Entidades Petroleras de Inversion Colectiva, which was scrapped by the new Chavista administration under the ideological leadership of Jorge Giordani. The rest, as they say, is history. And now this incredibly weird and hard to believe turn to try to do the same, but in Hong Kong.
As weird as it gets….kudos to Setty for reporting it!
The Devil's Excrement 
March 12, 2012 at 5:22 am
[…] de Setty (1,2), Caracas Chronicles (1,2), el blog de Foreign Policy y el Devil’s Excrement (1,2), nuestros periodistas no parecen haberse percatado del asunto. El gobierno privatiza a […]
March 6, 2012 at 8:31 am
[…] Project Via The Chinese GovernementChavismo Media Manipulation Not The Same Since Hugo Has Been SickPDVSA To Privatize Part Of A Unit???Constitutional Hall Of Venezuela’s Supreme Court, Puts “Ego” above “Constitution”Chavismo: […]
March 5, 2012 at 5:59 pm
[…] blogs de Setty (1,2), Caracas Chronicles (1,2), el blog de Foreign Policy y el Devil’s Excrement (1,2), nuestros periodistas no parecen haberse percatado del asunto. El gobierno privatiza a […]
March 5, 2012 at 12:18 pm
[…] PDVSA To Privatize Part Of A Unit??? […]
March 2, 2012 at 9:07 am
– Interesting Note –
Back on March 10th, 2010
Sean Penn Celebrates Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month By Wishing It On His Foes
CBS Sunday Morning last weekend actually produced a newsworthy moment that has people talking, when actor/activist Sean Penn discussed with host Lara Logan about those critical of his recent efforts in Haiti to aid those affected by the earthquake. “Do I hope that those people die screaming of rectal cancer? Yeah, you know, but I’m not going to spend a lot of energy on it.” Was he was speaking hyperbolically to make a point? Of course. But does the fact that March is Colorectal Cancer awareness month make it a tad more insensitive? Yup.
http://www.mediaite.com/online/sean-penn-celebrates-colon-cancer-awareness-month-by-wishing-it-on-his-foes/
March 1, 2012 at 11:53 pm
[…] Devil's Excrement Chavismo Media Manipulation Not The Same Since Hugo Has Been SickPDVSA To Privatize Part Of A Unit???Constitutional Hall Of Venezuela’s Supreme Court, Puts “Ego” above “Constitution”Chavismo: […]
March 1, 2012 at 4:23 am
And they call people in the opposition capitalists, vendepatrias, and even pigs…
Why do these flashbacks to scenes in Animal Farm pop up in my mind constantly?
February 29, 2012 at 6:14 pm
Do images of the U.S. invading VZ still haunt Chavez–and are these business deals, in his mind, a way for him to deter such a possibility, because it would pit the U.S. against China?
In other words, do Chavez’s many agreements with China and Russia act as a deterrent to U.S. actions in the country? Like, is this 1960s Fidel thinking, where he took Soviet nuclear weapons thinking the U.S. wouldn’t dare do a thing to confront the Soviets?
It seems like he simply wants to play the world powers against each other, based on capitalism.
February 29, 2012 at 5:14 pm
Sit back and enjoy it-this is the beginning of a long-term relationship
(called ChinascrewingVenezuela). Time to show a map of
the pregnant Chinese territory in Venezuela -it is growing!
February 29, 2012 at 2:46 pm
Alek is right — while I appreciate the link, it was Dow Jones that got the scoop, and Bloomberg also covered the story. I just commented — because like you, I found this bizarre.
February 29, 2012 at 2:52 pm
I was in Montevideo, almost oblivious to the world, then I read you and thought: WTF?
February 29, 2012 at 12:47 pm
I think it should be stressed that PDVSA is allowing only a small ‘unit’ of their operations to be listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange. That means that this ‘small unit’ will be subject ot the rigors of professional accountants going over the books. A stock market, even the one in Hong Kong, requires a thorough accounting of their financial assets and liabilities for the protection of potential investors. That’s how capitalism works. From what I understand the accounting firm that looks over the books at PDVSA corporate is a freaking joke. They, the international accounting firm assigned to the task, merely accept the numbers from PDVSA that are given to them as being ‘real.’ They’re not. That’s why PDVSA, as a corporation, could no longer be listed on any stock exchange in the world. How in God’s name can you explain to an auditor that oil is shipped to China, whose price/payment is based on ….what?… (!), and then those funds flow into something called Bandes, … whose financial numbers are only seen by one man, er…perhaps two RR….Hugo Chavez. Really? Who came-up with this hair-brained idea? This is acceptable accounting in which country? North Korea? Complete insanity!
February 29, 2012 at 1:50 pm
This appears to be a method of graft to foreign officials. The stocks will be held by Chinese individuals or high ranking Chavistas. Hugo will then subsidize that part of PDVSA to make it very profitable. Case closed.
February 29, 2012 at 12:20 pm
What’s a “unit”?
March 1, 2012 at 1:53 am
Init is roughly equivalent to a Line of Business (LOB)
March 1, 2012 at 1:54 am
I meant unit
February 29, 2012 at 11:02 am
If you sell shares on a Chinese exchange, does that somehow make it not capitalism?
February 29, 2012 at 11:30 am
Yes, is called comie salvage capitalism, like what is practiced in China.
February 29, 2012 at 5:09 pm
Yes, and the opposition dare not say or do anything to stop it, because as
Chavez says “they (the yanqui lovers) are planning to destabilize the
country-they are evil pigs”
Chavez IS the liberator- hold on to your pants….nothing else will be left
when the chavistas are finished.
February 29, 2012 at 11:00 am
Or does Chavismo simply want to sell the country before they leave?…. YESSSSSS!!! did you just realize that this was/is the plan????!! and of course… the people who will buy PDVSA is the people who took it to the ruins! is was said loooooong time ago! it was planned!
February 29, 2012 at 11:30 am
This is the plan, with the mortgage to the Chinese and now this, it is very clear.
February 29, 2012 at 9:44 am
Do we have opposition? I don’t think so….. Where are they? Are they still hangover after the 3mm votes? Wakeup my friends, the beast is still out there.
March 1, 2012 at 4:21 am
In fact the opposition could make a lot of these news. Maybe even take a bite out of hardcore chavista vote.
February 29, 2012 at 9:18 am
It may be more like the promised projects and production exchanged for the loans from China have not materialized, and this is an under the table way of repaying interests on the loans by giving up Venezuelan resources.
Sovereignty???
No money will change hands in these transactions, with no new cash flow for PDVSA. If not, why only in the Hong Kong market?
February 29, 2012 at 5:31 am
Indeed Miguel, it seems Chavez wants to start privatising PDVSA. Who would have thought? The news came out via WSJ.
February 29, 2012 at 12:28 am
Since this will not be announced on Aló Presidente, it will not have happened. (Even though it did.)