Venezuela to negotiate nationalization |
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Wed, 10 Jan 2007 19:35
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CARACAS, Venezuela (AFX) - President Hugo Chavez's government will negotiate settlements with companies that it plans to nationalize, a Venezuelan lawmaker said Wednesday.'We are not going to do anything illegal. We will negotiate,' Ricardo Sanguino, head of the congressional finance commission, told reporters.'There will always be compensation,' Sanguino added.Chavez announced plans this week to take over the country's largest telecommunication provider and the electricity sector, which sent Venezuelan stocks diving as spooked investors sold off their holdings in CA Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela, known as CANTV and which is partially owned by U.S. Verizon Communications Inc., and Electricidad de Caracas, controlled by Arlington, Virginia-based AES Corp.Other than CANTV, Chavez did not specify which companies would be taken over, and Sanguino declined to elaborate.But Sanguino said that the shareholder rights of any company affected would be respected.Chavez, who was swore in Wednesday to a fresh six-year term, says he will accelerate Venezuela's transformation into a socialist state.Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Chavez moves Venezuela toward socialism 