Why Some Countries Stay Poor

[amadeus]

From Brietbart/AFP

Venezuela seizes a landmark Hilton Hotel

President Hugo Chavez has ordered the "acquisition by force" of a landmark Hilton Hotel on Venezuela's Margarita island, the government's Official Gazette announced Tuesday.

The facility, on the Caribbean resort island of Margarita in Nueva Esparta state, was targeted for state takeover less than a month after it was used to host the Africa-South America Summit.

"The acquisition by force of the real estate, furnishings, and related assets (...) of the Margarita Hilton & Suites Hotel Complex, along with the Marina owned by Inversiones Pueblamar y Desarrollos MBK, have been ordered," a presidential decree in the official register read.

The sprawling complex includes 280 rooms, 210 suites, a casino, stores, restaurants, offices and meeting areas, as well as the adjoining marina.

The assets will be held by the state tourism corporation Venetur, which reports to the Tourism Ministry, as part of an "urgent" effort to boost "the social development side of the tourism and hotel industries in Nueva Esparta state," the Gazette said.

It is not the first time Chavez's government has checked into a Hilton and stayed for good.

Caracas has already seized the Hotel Hilton in Caracas, rechristening it the Hotel Alba, a reference to the Venezuelan-led leftist regional alliance Alianza Bolivariana para las Americas (ALBA).

In the past four years, Venezuela has implemented the nationalization of industries it sees as strategic including electrical utilities, cement, steel, oil services and banking.

Confused about the thread title? You shouldn't be; companies should be wary of investing in certain markets if this is inevitably going to happen, and I'm sure the risk assessors at many major corporations are doing just that, keeping jobs and improved standards of living from people in those countries over the fear of expropriation.

Would you invest in a country like Venezuela, where your assets can be seized without compensation at any time, for any reason?

 

[Arwon]

I'm kind of amused by the definition of tourism as a strategic national industry.

Edit: Also, people have been predicting implosion in Venezuela for like ten years because of wacky things like this... but things like the exchange rate and stock market are very healthy (hell their bonds are more attractive than most), absolute poverty is a fraction of what it was, salary growth has outstripped inflation for the last couple of years... I'm just wondering when the Zimbabwefication I've seen "experts" predict is supposed to happen.

 

[Newbunkle]

Chavez's government is a bunch of dirty thieves!

 

[Yeekim]

What's the excuse?
I mean, even Chavez probably wouldn't forcefully take over a business "just because". Or would he?

 

[ParkCungHee]

He took over a mall because he didn't like malls.

He promised to put up a "something" in it's place.

 

[Phlegmak]

From Brietbart/AFP


Confused about the thread title? You shouldn't be; companies should be wary of investing in certain markets if this is inevitably going to happen, and I'm sure the risk assessors at many major corporations are doing just that, keeping jobs and improved standards of living from people in those countries over the fear of expropriation.

Would you invest in a country like Venezuela, where your assets can be seized without compensation at any time, for any reason?

So what was the reason for the seizure?

 

[ParadigmShifter]

Maybe they suspected WMDs in the hotel.

 

[madcyclist]

Even Cuba has an enormous hotel infrastructure built with foreign capital catering only for foreign tourists, employing "selected locals" (read: party members). The only cubans that really benefit directly, are the substantial number of self-employed prostitutes. It is a sad day for Isla Margarita and for the Venezuelan people. I think Hugo Chavez shows symptoms of mad cow disease.

 

[warpus]

Please take Paris too, Chavez. Lock her up and put her up on display at one of your resorts.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

From Brietbart/AFP


Confused about the thread title? You shouldn't be; companies should be wary of investing in certain markets if this is inevitably going to happen, and I'm sure the risk assessors at many major corporations are doing just that, keeping jobs and improved standards of living from people in those countries over the fear of expropriation.

Would you invest in a country like Venezuela, where your assets can be seized without compensation at any time, for any reason?

Some countries stay poor because of neo-liberal policies promoted by First World nations and morons like you who want to drain money and material wealth from those countries to line their own pockets. Globalization isn't about "helping people" its about economic imperialism and neo-colonialism. You're just bitter because Chavez threw your boy Caldera out and refuses to take the crap the US is dealing out to Venezuela's neighbors.

Why can't Venezuela just be a good footstool like Colombia?

 

[Yeekim]

Some countries stay poor because of neo-liberal policies promoted by First World nations and morons like you who want to drain money and material wealth from those countries to line their own pockets. Globalization isn't about "helping people" its about economic imperialism and neo-colonialism. You're just bitter because Chavez threw your boy Caldera out and refuses to take the crap the US is dealing out to Venezuela's neighbors.

Why can't Venezuela just be a good footstool like Colombia?

Would you care to explain how exactly is building a hotel to someplace translatable as "draining money and material wealth from the country"?

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Would you care to explain how exactly is building a hotel to someplace translatable as "draining money and material wealth from the country"?

Its not. I was talking about the thread title and poster. But Ama is suggesting that what Chavez is doing here is "bad" for Venezuela since foreign firms will supposedly be less likely to build in and invest in countries that do this sort of thing. He is clearly arguing that First-World corporations building in these countries is "good" for them, which is blatantly false. Chavez discouraging big corporations from building is his country is a good thing, and more Latin American and third-world countries should do it.

 

[Newbunkle]

Yeah! Jobs, money, and tourism are evil!

 

[Yeekim]

Its not. I was talking about the thread title and poster. But Ama is suggesting that what Chavez is doing here is "bad" for Venezuela since foreign firms will supposedly be less likely to build in and invest in countries that do this sort of thing. He is clearly arguing that First-World corporations building in these countries is "good" for them, which is blatantly false. Chavez discouraging big corporations from building is his country is a good thing, and more Latin American and third-world countries should do it.

Investment from foreign corporations is - as a general rule - good thing.
It can be bad thing, if they are, to use your words, "draining money and material wealth from the country" - but if this allowed to happen, it simply means the government is either incompetent or corrupt - usually both.
And, as previously stated, it is very difficult to imagine, how a hotel business could be draining anything from the locals.

To summarize this, any government worth its name should be bringing in as much foreign investment as possible under terms favorable to their country. What Chavez did was, obviously, the exact opposite.

EDIT: And I am tempted at Godwynning this thread.

 

[Heretic_Cata]

Why Some Countries Stay Poor ?

Communism

 

[JollyRoger]

I think one should do a risk assessment before committing to a major project.

 

[kulade]

i can't believe western corporations rip native ppls away from their paradisaical life of subsistence farming and prostituton.

 

[Fuzzz]

From Brietbart/AFP


Confused about the thread title? You shouldn't be; companies should be wary of investing in certain markets if this is inevitably going to happen, and I'm sure the risk assessors at many major corporations are doing just that, keeping jobs and improved standards of living from people in those countries over the fear of expropriation.

Would you invest in a country like Venezuela, where your assets can be seized without compensation at any time, for any reason?

A capitalist company will invest in anything, even if it's communist, as long as the company thinks it can make profit out of its investments.

 

[vesley1987]

But Ama is suggesting that what Chavez is doing here is "bad" for Venezuela since foreign firms will supposedly be less likely to build in and invest in countries that do this sort of thing. He is clearly arguing that First-World corporations building in these countries is "good" for them, which is blatantly false. Chavez discouraging big corporations from building is his country is a good thing, and more Latin American and third-world countries should do it.

Uh, I understand that to let foreign companies control certain strategic industries might be 'bad', but what exactly is so bad to let some 'First-World corporations' build some fancy hotels? It attracts more foreign tourists, at least.

 

[Ecofarm]

A capitalist company will invest in anything, even if it's communist, as long as the company thinks it can make profit out of its investments.

One of the best ways to fight communism is to inject a little capitalism and let the people see what is possible in a free-market system. Your statement seems to imply that doing so is unethical.