Chavez Orders
Expropriation of
Venezuela's Largest
Steel Maker
Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez on Wednesday
ordered the
expropriation of the
country's largest steel
maker Siderurgica del
Orinoco, local media
reported.
Chavez said he had
signed a decree to
nationalize Siderurgica
del Orinoco, known as
Sidor, which was
previously controlled by
Luxembourg-based Ternium
SA.
The president added that
his government would
turn Sidor into "a
socialist company,"
saying the steal maker
"has now recuperated by
the revolutionary
government."
Chavez announced plans
to nationalize Sidor
earlier this month.
Venezuelan government
officials had been
talking with Ternium SA
representatives to
negotiate a price for
its 60 percent share in
the company, but the two
sides were unable to
reach an agreement.
Chavez said earlier this
week that his government
would not pay the 4
billion U.S. dollars
that Ternium SA was
seeking, calling the
amount too excessive.
Officials had estimated
Sidor's total value at
around 800 million
dollars.
Sidor was privatized in
1998. The conglomerate
produces about 85
percent of the 5 million
metric tons of steel
produced annually in
Venezuela, according to
the Belgium-based
International Iron and
Steel Institute.
Following his
re-election for a
six-year presidential
term in 2006, Chavez
launched a
nationalization drive in
several key fields such
as telecommunications,
electricity and oil.
The nationalization of
Sidor is the second of
its type affecting
foreign capital this
year. On April 3, Chavez
announced the
nationalization of the
country's cement
industry in efforts to
help tackle a national
housing shortage.
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