Compania Inversora en Transmision Electrica Citelec S.A.

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National Grid Company (NGC), a British company, through its wholly-owned Dutch subsidiary, National Grid Finance BY, purchased a 15 percent interest in an Argentine holding company, Compaqma Inversora en Transmision Electrica CITILEC S.A. (CITILEC), which bid successfully on a privatization tender to acquire a 65 percent controlling interest in the Argentine national power transmission system. Upon privatization, the system was folded into one company, Transener S.A. NGC's total investment was approximately $24 million, for which MIGA issued $15 million coverage against the risks of currency transfer, expropriation, and war and civil disturbance. ECGD, the British national insurance agency, is also covering a portion of the investment. Since 1989, the World Bank's country assistance strategy has focused on supporting Argentine efforts to improve public finances by eliminating the persistent structural deficit that had caused economic instability and slow growth during the 1980s. The privatization of Transener is a part of these efforts. This project is of particular importance to Argentina's electrical grid system since the Transener network forms the core of the Argentine Interconnected System and supplies the distribution companies in greater Buenos Aires and the provinces of central and northern Argentina. The privatization will also involve the introduction of new technology and the application of new management techniques.

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