On Monday, shares of state-oil firm YPF surged 40% after Javier Milei won the presidential election and defeated Economy Minister Sergio Massa. If Milei’s plans take off, there could be major economic changes in the country, including privatizing YPF. The government had nationalized 51% of YPF over ten years ago, taking control from Spain’s Repsol. They now manage substantial shale gas and oil reserves.
Milei has big economic revamp plans for the country, including using the US dollar and possibly selling off state-run companies such as YPF. He mentioned in a radio interview that his administration’s aim is to add value to companies to increase their saleability and benefit the people in Argentina. The anticipation of this new economic era is expected to impact the exchange rate between the peso and the dollar.
Argentine stocks and dollar bonds all performed well on Monday, presumably in response to Milei’s sweeping victory. Not only did YPF see a rise in stock price, but other Argentina-linked equities, such as Grupo Financiero Galicia and Banco Macro, also gained over 20% in value. The Global X MSCI Argentina ETF saw gains as well, going over 11.6% soon after midday in New York.
Milei described his election win as the defeat of a decadent model, asserting that there is no turning back. To manage Argentina’s historic inflation, a plan is set to deprioritize the peso over the dollar.
