John Authers does not need to go as far as Venezuela and Thailand to find those that believe that foreign capitalists are locusts (¨The Short View: Capital controls¨ January 10 2007). He can find those much closer to home.
Onésimo Alvarez-Moro
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A reminder: respect for international capital is still less than total in emerging markets. Monday brought the news Venezuela would nationalise Cantv, its national telecommunications provider – a decision that would harm US investors the most – while Thailand announced capital controls that will make it harder for foreign companies to hold majority stakes in Thai companies.
The Venezuelan decision took investors by surprise, as Cantv’s share price fell 14 per cent in a matter of minutes after President Hugo Chávez announced his intention to nationalise it. The Caracas stock exchange fell 18 per cent on Tuesday. But Mr Chávez’s act continued a pattern of aggressive moves towards western interests. In Thailand – where the local exchange dropped 2.7 per cent – the authorities acted in spite of the disastrous response to an attempt to impose even tougher capital controls last month.
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