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Argentina hopes to stem economic woes with investment forum

Xinhua, September 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

Argentina will launch the Argentina Business and Investment Forum on Monday, with over 1,900 business people from home and abroad confirmed to attend.

The forum, which is set to last till Thursday, is part of the Argentinean government's effort to rebrand the country among the global investment community.

It will seek to bring about the strategy of President Mauricio Macri to "boost economic sectors, strengthen the public sector and stimulate long-term, public investment, for which foreign investment will be a crucial pillar," said the president of the Argentina Agency for International Investment and Trade, Juan Procaccini.

With an economy set to contract by 1.5 percent this year according to the IMF projection, Argentina has set out to capture investments, kick-start public works and modernize infrastructure.

The event will kick off Monday night at the Kirchner Cultural Center, the largest convention center in South America.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Procaccini, said that the forum needs to help Argentina get the investments it needs to be competitive in a range of sectors.

Since December when Macri became president, Argentina has received between 33-35 billion U.S. dollars in investment pledges, said the official.

"In one semester, we received more than in a number of past years combined. We have reintegrated into the world, starting by building trust and removing obstacles. Argentina is again on the international rader, giving importance to this forum," he said.

In a column published in the daily Clarin on Sunday, Macri wrote that "from September 12 to 15, the eyes of the world will be on Argentineans, and all we are capable of doing and being."

"This is the first time that this country will hold an event with these characteristics...in which first-class investment opportunities for agriculture, biotechnology, renewable and traditional energies, tourism, services and various industrial sectors" will be presented, Macri added.

Those having confirmed their attendance at the four-day summit include Bob Dudley, CEO of BP; Joe Kaeser, CEO of Siemens; Muhtar Kent, CEO of Coca-Cola; Miguel Kozuszok, president of Unilever for Latin America, and Andrew Liveris, chairman and CEO for Dow Chemical.

China Eximbank, China Railway Construction Corporation and the China Development Bank will be among those companies in attendance. Endit