allesennogwat
05-03-2007, 03:03 PM
CARACAS - President Hugo Chavez threatened to take over the whole banking sector and Venezuela's largest steelmaker on Thursday, raising the spectre of a widened nationalisation 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 nationalisation.
But in the cases of the banks and the steelmaker Ternium-Sidor, Chavez made his threats conditional, saying they could avoid take-over if they adapted their businesses to better take into account what he calls the national interest.
The banks need to prioritise making domestic loans and the steelmaker should adjust to focus more on the local market too, he said.
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 nationalisation.
But in the cases of the banks and the steelmaker Ternium-Sidor, Chavez made his threats conditional, saying they could avoid take-over if they adapted their businesses to better take into account what he calls the national interest.
The banks need to prioritise making domestic loans and the steelmaker should adjust to focus more on the local market too, he said.