ARGENTINA: An Introduction

Jurisdiction of Argentina

On 10 December 2023, a new Administration took office in Argentina, led by President Javier Milei of the La Libertad Avanza party.

The new government is implementing business-friendly policies and has already adopted numerous measures aimed at reducing public spending and inflation, deregulating the economy and limiting government intervention in the private sector.

However, several structural reforms require support from the National Congress, where Milei’s political party represents a minority. Remarkably, in June 2024, the National Congress approved Milei’s most ambitious bill, known as “Bases and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines” (the “Bases Law”). The Bases Law includes a Promotional Regime for Large Investments (Régimen de Incentivo para Grandes Inversiones, or “RIGI”), a promotional regime granting tax, customs and foreign exchange (FX) benefits to qualifying projects, with a guarantee of regulatory, customs, fiscal and FX stability for 30 years from the respective regime accession date. Qualifying projects (representing investments in excess of USD200 million) must belong to the following sectors of the economy: industrial forestry, tourism, infrastructure, mining, technology, iron and steel industry, energy, oil & gas. As of June 2025, 13 projects have been submitted and four of them have been approved, including: (i) YPF Luz’s El Quemado windfarm; (ii) the VMOS crude oil pipeline; (iii) Southern Energy SA’s LNG project; and (iv) Río Tinto’s expansion of the Rincon lithium project. 

While analysts believe that Argentina’s GDP will pick up in 2025 and 2026, with projections ranging from 4% to 5% per annum, some sectors of the economy are already drawing attention from local and international investors.   

Main industry sectors

The energy, mining and technology sectors have been particularly active, and explain most of the transactional activity (M&A, lending and capital markets, project finance, etc) in recent years. This is a trend that should remain for the years ahead, as these sectors benefit from the current local and global climate.

• Oil & Gas: Argentina’s energy rebirth is based on the development of shale gas and shale oil projects. Argentina has the second-largest volume of shale gas reserves in the world and the fourth-largest shale oil reserves. Shale oil and shale gas production represents 50% of national output. More than 50% of unconventional resources are located in the Neuquén Basin, and particularly in the Vaca Muerta formation. While the country still lacks the appropriate infrastructure to transport and export the crude oil and gas outputs, many projects are underway, and some others are in different stages of development. Indeed, significant progress has been made during the last two years to construct necessary incremental transportation capacity.
• LNG: The development of large-scale LNG projects in Argentina is one of the top priorities for the new Administration and energy companies operating in the country. Specific projects are under development by different local and international sponsors. RIGI has been key to unlock these projects.   
• Energy transition-related projects: Clean energy transition is driving a significant increase in global demand for minerals (not just lithium but also cobalt, nickel, copper and other rare-earths elements). Argentina alone accounts for over 20% of the world’s lithium reserves, has the largest project pipeline on the planet, and offers certain competitive advantages from a cost perspective. Argentina’s lithium production has increased significantly, from less than 1% of global production in 1994 to 5.3% in 2023. Experts believe that Argentina’s production will represent 13% of world market share by 2030.
• Renewable energy: This (mainly wind and solar) is also at the top of the list of local and international industry players. In addition, particular interest is being shown in blue and green hydrogen projects (on an industrial scale although at a nascent stage). Private investment in the expansion of the power transmission system is also expected, particularly if the Milei Administration can pass some of its intended energy regulatory framework reforms. For example, during 2025, the Energy Secretariat approved new guidelines for the deregulation of the power sector with the aim of implementing regulatory changes by the end of 2025. Power transmission constraints are currently one of the main obstacles for the continuous expansion of Argentina’s renewable energy sector. In this regard, the Ministry of the Economy recently issued a resolution declaring sixteen high-voltage and extra high-voltage electricity transmission infrastructure projects to be of urgent and national priority. These projects are to be executed by the private sector under the public works concession regime governed by Law No 17,520, as amended by the Bases Law.
• Technology: The technology sector has also shown great potential, with many local companies having achieved “unicorn” status in recent years and now playing a regional and international role. The local venture capital ecosystem is reasonably well developed and foreign angels are active in the country.
• Agribusiness: Argentina plays a significant role in the global agricultural economy. It is one of the largest producers and exporters of soy-derived products. Also, soy and sugar cane are extensively cultivated for biofuel production, making the country a leading player in the global biodiesel market.
• Transportation: Recent measures de-regulating the merchant navy and aviation markets are aimed at reducing red-tape barriers and other restrictions to operate locally, allowing increased competition and competitiveness, including from a global trade perspective.

Other de-regulation measures include eliminating the restriction on foreigners owning large extensions of rural lands, which could foster foreign investment in the agricultural sector.

Different regulatory changes (including the privatisation of some State-controlled companies and the gradual normalisation of the FX market) are now being implemented. Also, the Milei Administration continues to introduce long-awaited red-tape amendments to reduce inefficiencies in dealings with the government. Further, updates to tax, antitrust, capital markets and corporate laws and regulations are being discussed. The Bases Law (including the RIGI) could trigger novel investment opportunities in the country and accelerate the projects currently under analysis.

All in, these changes should benefit M&A activity generally, as well as international capital and credit market activity for sovereign, certain sub-sovereigns and blue-chip corporates. In turn, due to Argentina’s somewhat erratic history, we note that foreign investors are following economic and political developments cautiously. It would thus be reasonable to expect that transactional activity over the next few months will be mainly driven by companies already operating in the country, though analysis and preliminary activity in connection with direct foreign investment and cross-border financing is happening already.