In a country where the rule of law gets trampled more and more, Hugo Chavez announced today that tomorrow he will find a new way to do it when he plans to nationalize the cement companies in the country. There are three companies that will be nationalized, which are majority owned by Cemex, Lafarge and Holderbank. However, the ones under the control of Cemex and Lafarge trade in the Caracas Stock market and thus are subject to the Capital Markets Law, which Chavez plans to step over.
Under the Capital Markets Law, anyone that wants to take over a company, including the Government has to first tender at a specified price for all of the shares. This applied to and was use din the case of Electricidad de Caracas and CANTV, but Chavez is gettingt more autocratic by the day and has decided to skip this bothersome legislation even if it happens to be the law of the land. By the way, the same law applies to Banco de Venezuela, which is also publicly traded.
The nationalization of the cement industry is oriented exclusively to nationalize Cemex Venezuela. In fact, it is my understanding that there have been negotiations to reach an agreement only with Cemex and not with the other two. In the end Chavez will pay whatever he wants and the people in charge of the Comision Nacional de Valores will say nothing about the Law which they are supposed to defend.
Chavez is nationalizing the cement industry because he believes he will be able to build more housing as if that was ever a limitation. Once again the ignorant Chief Economist of Venezuela ignores the laws and destroys the value he has shown for ten years he is incapable of creating.
I own a few shares of Cemex Venezuela, so indirectly my assets are being nationalized and my rights are being ignored.
The Devil's Excrement 
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