In a decisive move to align state-owned enterprises with market norms, the Argentine government completed the conversion of Ferrocarriles Argentinos into a single‑person public company under the framework of DNU 70/2023. The reform ensures that public firms operate under the General Companies Law just like private entities.
Foreign capital is already showing interest in specific sectors, notably aviation, where a French group is monitoring the situation of Intercargo. The government’s plan is to privatize more than a dozen public companies next year as part of a strategy to reduce the fiscal deficit and bolster the Central Bank’s reserves.
The sale roster includes transportation and infrastructure entities such as the Administration of Railway Infrastructure, the General Port Administration, and the Argentine Air Navigation Company. It also covers communication and education bodies like Public Content, Edu.Ar, Radio and Television Argentina (RTA), and the news agency Télam, as well as defense giants Fabricaciones Militares, the Mint, and AySA, the main water provider for the Greater Buenos Aires area.
In the energy sector, focus is on transporters Transener, Enarsa, and hydroelectric dam concessions, assets the ruling party seeks to open to competition. The administration finalized the conversion of all State Companies into corporations this Friday, and it remains eyeing the concession of the National Road Corridors and the Vía Navegable Troncal (Hidrovia), critical for foreign trade.
By eliminating public prerogatives and standardizing corporate structures, President Javier Milei aims to streamline the regulatory framework for future bids and sales, ensuring these entities no longer rely on the national budget and integrate into a free‑market system that prioritizes operational efficiency and real foreign currency inflows for the country.
