Chávez threatens to take over banks
- Venuzuela
- 05/04/2007
President Hugo Chavez threatened to take over Venezuela’s private banks and its largest steelmaker on Thursday, raising the prospect of a widened nationalization drive by the leftist leader.
After taking over utility companies earlier this year and seizing control of the last privately run oil operations in the OPEC nation only two days ago, Chavez suddenly opened new potential fronts for nationalization.
But in the cases of the banks and the steelmaker Ternium-Sidor, Chavez made his threats conditional, saying they could avoid takeover if they adapted their businesses to better take into account what he calls the national interest.
The banks need to prioritize making domestic loans and the steelmaker should focus more on supplying the local market with cheap products, he said.
Source: Financial Times
