MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

London Stock Exchange after Argentine companies

The London Stock Exchange is very much interested in having Argentine companies join the market since Argentina has excellent conditions: natural resources, technology and a trained population, according to Graham Dallas, senior manager from LSE currently visiting Buenos Aires to promote London's financial markets.

"Our meeting in Buenos Aires was even more successful than in Sao Paulo, we managed to convene 240 companies and investment funds" said Dallas who is heading an important delegation from London's financial markets. "Last year we came on an exploratory mission and now we are ready to convince Argentine companies to open to the LSE. We have the successful experience of Clarin (media group) which last year showed the way with an initial public offering, IPO", added Dallas. "Clarin managed to attract 529 million US dollars of which 80% from non Argentine investors. This is evidence that all over the world there's an interest in companies from Argentina, particularly those linked to agro business, real estate, gas and oil", said the LSE manager who pointed out that "we have investors who can detect opportunities in emerging and new markets". The LSE has two levels, the "main market" for strong, established companies and one for the smaller, growing companies, Alternative Investment Market, AIM. Dallas said that LSE has 700 foreign companies from 70 different countries with a market value of 4.5 trillion US dollars. Latinamerica is present with 31 companies. "Argentine companies have an opportunity to work from London which is a global jumping board to reach investors from all over the world" indicated Dallas who said that in the last two years the LSE attracted 202 international companies which raised 60 billion US dollars. Last year, according to Dallas, the 95 international OPI in the LSE from 24 different countries (excluding the UK) raised over double the 13 billion collected by 34 non US companies which issued OPI in the New York Stock Exchange. "We have two clear advantages for Argentine companies. On the one hand we have an international projection which enables us a better reach to investors from the Middle East. On the other hand, a friendlier regulatory framework for business, not like the one in the US", concluded Dallas.