Wall Street investors are evaluating financial opportunities in Venezuela after the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro by the United States, a scenario that they had already contemplated and that even led them to previously acquire Venezuelan bonds, revealed Charles Myers, president of the political risk consulting firm Signum Global Advisors.
Cited by media such as The Wall Street Journal y Business InsiderMyers described an atmosphere of “cautious optimism” among the executives and fund managers he has spoken to after Maduro’s departure from power. Furthermore, he asserted that “the key to Venezuela’s success, in 12 or even 24 months, is foreign investment.
“The central element of the country’s success will be the arrival of external capital,” said Myers, who was also vice president of the investment firm Evercore.
He referred to sectors such as oil and gas as relatively direct investments, but also to the potential in infrastructure, construction and tourism.
▲ This image, released by the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela SA on an unspecified date, shows the platform Aban Pearleast of the state of Sucre. This structure sank on May 13, 2010, after its 95 workers fled in lifeboats or jumped into the Caribbean Sea. The United States government has announced that it will invest in the energy infrastructure of the South American country to exploit its resources.Photo Ap
According to Myers, the tentative plan calls for about 20 officials from the financial, energy and defense sectors to travel to Venezuela in March to meet with the new government, including the president of the central bank and the Caracas Stock Exchange.
He also recognized that the firm he directs had already anticipated the current scenario, which is why he prepared investors to act soon.
He clarified that the role of his consulting firm does not include moral judgments about US intervention in the regime change, but rather advising clients to foresee risks or identify investment possibilities in the face of international events.
“The enthusiasm is notable, even higher than in previous cases, precisely because of the direct leadership of the United States, which will have a key role in the Venezuelan economy from now on,” he noted.
In the past, Signum has organized similar delegations to Syria and Ukraine, among other countries, to explore opportunities.